Abstract
The prior use and age make refurbished products a less desirable option because they are perceived to be of lower quality, to have a reduced performance and a less attractive appearance. This research investigates one strategy on how to enhance the appearance of refurbished products and thereby encourage circular consumption via refurbishment. In 21 in-depth interviews, we explore whether embodying refurbished products in a timeless design can serve as a potential strategy to influence consumer acceptance of refurbished products. Specifically, we examined two design styles that were proposed as timeless: the neo-retro design style, which evokes nostalgia and benefits from associations with the past, and the simplistic design style, that is independent of cultural or time-related cues. Our findings provided qualitative support that the neo-retro and the simplistic design styles can improve consumers’ evaluations of refurbished products. Both design styles were considered to be timeless and elicited favorable associations in consumers. While refurbished products, following a neo-retro design style, evoked positive associations with old products, such as feelings of nostalgia and the good quality of the past, simplistic products benefited from associations with durability and associations with high-quality brands.
Highlights
In the European Union, more than 8 million kg of electronic waste is annually produced [1]
We elaborate on our findings related to the general motivations to buy refurbished products, the evaluations of refurbished products following either the neo-retro or simplistic design styles, and the general design characteristics that were identified to make refurbishment more attractive to consumers
Refurbishment is a promising circular strategy that can make the production of consumer goods more sustainable by saving finite resources and minimizing waste
Summary
In the European Union, more than 8 million kg of electronic waste is annually produced [1]. The circular economy aims to replace our current take-make-waste model of producing products (linear economy) with a “regenerative system in which resource input and waste, emission, and energy leakage are minimized by slowing, closing, and narrowing material and energy loops This can be achieved through long-lasting design, maintenance, repair, reuse, remanufacturing, refurbishing, and recycling” [3] The most preferred strategies in a circular economy try to maintain the highest utility and value and keep consumer products intact by aiming for extended use periods either with the first owner or a successful second life via refurbishment or remanufacturing These circular strategies save production costs, such as energy, water, and virgin resources needed to manufacture new products
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