Product Hibernation
In our work with Google’s Consumer Hardware Sustainability team, a colleague (John Rooks from The SOAP Group) and I used ethnographic-style research to provide detailed understanding of why consumers hold on to their electronics after they stop using them (instead of donating or recycling them, for example) – essentially, letting devices “hibernate” in their homes.
This research led to a blog post and white paper published by Google, as well as a presentation by us at an academic conference.
Thanks to the Google Consumer Hardware Sustainability team’s appreciation of the value of open-sourced sustainability data (and their generosity in sharing information), the raw data and findings from this research project are available to others for further use/study for free:
- Hibernation Research Summary Findings (PDF)
- Hibernation Interview Video Transcripts (DOC) – email for access
- Hibernation Research Interviewee Demographic and Application Data (XLS) – email for access
If you are curious to learn more about this research and how it might apply to your organization, email to set up time to chat.
Product Longevity
In this project, John Rooks from The SOAP Group and I conducted ethnographic-style research to help a consumer electronics company explore questions around how to help consumers use products for longer, including: How long do people expect or want certain electronics products to last? How tolerant are people of degrading technology – where is the breaking point, and why? How do they feel when they have to purchase a new electronics product?
One of the major findings of our research was the “push” and the “pull”, where consumers are simultaneously pushed away from their old products as they stop performing as expected and pulled towards newer-generation technology, enticed by the marketing and the experience of “new”. We also discovered details around what drives product longevity, including the role of battery life in portable electronics, trust in manufacturers to support products for longer periods of time, etc. Ultimately, we found that users want agency over choosing when they want to replace their devices.
Through the generosity of our client and their support of open-sourced sustainability research, the raw data and findings from this research project are available to others for further use/study for free:
- Product Longevity Research Summary Findings (PDF)
- Product Longevity Interview Video Transcripts (DOC) – email for access
- Product Longevity Research Interviewee Demographic and Application Data (XLS) – email for access
If you are curious to learn more about this research and how it might apply to your organization, email to set up time to chat.