Challenge of lifetime products vs repeat purchases to grow a business. Championing 'reuse for the planet', while business model is dependent on people buying more
The challenge of lifetime products vs repeat purchases to grow a business: championing 'reuse for the planet', while a business model is dependent on people buying more? Is there a better way?
Challenge of lifetime products vs repeat purchases to grow a business. Championing 'reuse for the planet', while business model is dependent on people buying more
The challenge of lifetime products vs repeat purchases to grow a business: championing 'reuse for the planet', while a business model is dependent on people buying more? Is there a better way?
Businesses that market “products for life” but have a business model dependent on customers purchasing more and more are going to struggle to retain repeat customers (if the product is good) and/or have an unsound sustainability rationale. When the most sustainable choice customers could make is to stop buying more stuff, how can these businesses reverse the trends towards planned obsolescence, and position themselves as champions of reuse for the planet while continuing to turn a profit?
Are there alternative business models that actually work, which aren’t dependent on repeat purchases? ‘Repair’ systems are a good concept, but these are not in themselves generating revenue. Before the era of ‘planned obsolescence’, how did businesses make it work? What does brand loyalty look like in a business model that encourages people not to buy their products if they already have enough?
It matters because unfettered capitalist consumption damages the planet and creates inequalities. For businesses selling products marketed to be reused over and again, if their business model is the same as any other business - relying on more and more products made and sold to its customer base - it’s not challenging the system and showing a viable alternative to the status quo. Whereas if businesses really can find an alternative, it could create real good for people and planet.
