Europeans Are Willing to Pay More for Products That Last Longer

It seems that manufacturers’ games with products having a shorter lifespan are not yielding the desired results. Customers want more durable products, and price is less important to them. The French were the most sensitive to product longevity.

The European Economic and Social Committee has published an interesting study for retailers, manufacturers, and marketing professionals, indicating that highlighting product durability on labels is closely linked to consumer behavior. The study ‘The Impact of Durability Labels on Consumers’ showed that products labeled as durable have significantly higher sales than those that are not, and that the importance of product longevity increases for consumers in proportion to the amount they are willing to spend. In other words, consumers in the European Union are more inclined towards products that last and reject ‘planned obsolescence’, or the intentional shortening of product lifespan by manufacturers. This issue has recently gained momentum in European Union institutions, but there have not yet been visible regulatory changes, so manufacturers continue to offer products with very limited lifespans, not necessarily at limited prices.

The Spanish Just Don’t Care

About 90 percent of respondents expressed a willingness to pay more for a washing machine that lasts two years longer, specifically 102 euros or more for a warranty on a washing machine worth between 300 and 500 euros. It is not surprising that the willingness to spend a larger amount for a more durable product varies in relation to the GDP of the country where the respondent lives (the study was conducted in Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Spain, and the Netherlands). The French were the most sensitive to product longevity (118 percent higher sales of products with marked durability), while all others were far less burdened by this (Belgians and Dutch by 45 percent, Czechs by 39 percent, and Spaniards by 32 percent).

Penalty – Recycling Cost

The way durability is highlighted is also important; the research shows that a ranking from A to G, similar to that of energy efficiency, can lead to up to 84 percent higher sales when visible. Secondly, those with lower incomes are easier targets and are more likely to succumb to ‘planned obsolescence’ simply because they have to buy cheaper products. Furthermore, 80 percent of participants believe that manufacturers have a responsibility for product longevity. The study aligns with the Committee’s earlier positions that clear labeling of products with information about the minimum guaranteed lifespan helps strengthen consumer trust and encourages a shift from a consumer society towards sustainability. For this reason, for example, the Committee advocates that manufacturers should be required to bear the recycling costs of products with a lifespan of less than five years.