Consumer Feedback

As part of the PROMPT project, Stiftung Warentest surveyed German consumers on their experience with repair and product lifetime for 17 different product groups. Over 10.000 people participated and over 90.000 products were reported. Some major findings of the study are:

• Approximately 80% of all reported products were running without any problems.
• People prefer to repair their products: 73% tried to repair by themselves, but only 32 % succeed.
• The success of repair differs from one product group to another: While only 21% of defect printers could be repaired, the success rate amounted to 64% for tumble dryers.
• Batteries play a crucial role: The share of defects related to batteries was 51% for mobile phones, 36% for tablets and 33% for notebooks.

These data will be combined with results from our European partners within the PROMPT project to generate a trans-European overview on the consumers’ experience with repair and product lifetime. Click here for the full article (in German).

Our project partner OCU shares its first results from their platform Barometer of Premature Obsolescence with feedback from Spanish consumers. Click here for the full article (in Spanish). Some key take away messages from the preliminary results are :

• Mobile phones are on top of the complaints when it comes to product that don’t last long enough (28% of all complaints).
• 42% of the problems reported occurred in the first two years while the product was still under legal guarantee.
• Most of the products are not repaired (4 out 10), mainly because repair is perceived as too costly.

The PROMPT project is consolidating these results with feedback from other European countries and with additional customers reports. Do not hesitate to report your defect products to your local consumer organisation!