Consumer expectations of product lifetimes around the world: a review of global research and methods

This paper presents the findings of research to identify and evaluate current studies into consumer expectations of product lifetimes across durable goods. Following a literature review, studies were classified using a product categorisation scheme formulated at Nottingham Trent University and a product lifetime expectations typology adapted from Oguchi et al. (2016a) was developed. The results would appear to suggest that consumer expectations of product lifetimes are in decline, and that those in the United Kingdom appear to be lower than those in other parts of the world. However, identifying differences in consumer expectations of product lifetimes is hindered by the different methods employed in studies, as face-to-face interviews, and online, telephone and postal studies all have the potential to produce different results. Three key challenges to furthering research into consumer expectations of product lifetimes were identified: Product coverage, definitions of consumer expectations and sampling strategies. Only if these challenges can be addressed will researchers be able to draw meaningful conclusions on both personal and cultural trends in expected product lifetimes and make a positive contribution to addressing both material and social aspects of the circular economy.