Consumer attitude towards the repair and the second-hand purchase of small household electrical and electronic equipment. A Spanish case study

Abstract

This study presents a survey to identify current habits and practices regarding the repair and second-hand purchases of small household electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) in Spain, and to identify the profile of consumers who are more or less prone to this behaviour. To this end, a survey was designed and conducted with a representative sample size of 400 valid responses obtained through telephone interviews. It allowed the identification of the most frequent small EEE in households, and consumer habits as regards replacement, repairs and second-hand purchases. Consumers used small household EEE for an average of 6.25 years; 9.56% of those interviewed had never repaired broken small household EEE, and only 0.75% had bought second-hand small household EEE at some time. The analysis of the relationship between consumer attitudes and their socio-economic characteristics using logit models indicated that older consumers and females were more prone to repair small household EEE, while older males with medium family incomes tended to purchase second-hand small household EEE more. Finally, consumers indicated that they considered it is important that the design and labeling of small household EEE included aspects and information about their durability. The obtained results are useful for designing and targeting future awareness campaigns to proper audiences that promote extending the lifetime of EEE by repairing and second-hand purchases. These actions can help to achieve the minimum recovery targets for preparing for the reuse stated within the waste policy framework.