Consumer Perspectives on Longevity and Reliability: A National Study of Purchasing Factors Across Eighteen Product Categories

Abstract

Increasing global demand for durable goods prevents the decoupling of economic growth from natural resource use required to achieve sustainable consumption and production. Presently, most consumers in the United Kingdom (UK) exhibit a strong preference for purchasing new durable goods. Therefore, short-to-medium term strategies that seek to engender sustainable consumption of durable goods should focus on encouraging consumers to choose longer-lasting, reliable products. This paper outlines the importance consumers place on six purchasing factors (appearance, brand, guarantee length, longevity, price and reliability) across eighteen categories of durable goods. Data was collected from a UK national survey of consumer satisfaction with product lifetimes (n=2207). The research identified that most consumers consistently emphasise the importance of longevity and reliability when purchasing new products. If consumer preference for longer-lasting, reliable products can be translated into purchasing behaviour, progress can be made towards engendering sustainable consumption, enacting the circular economy and reducing national ecological footprints.