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Why on earth did I buy that?! A study of regretted consumption
practicesDr Thomas Roberts: [email protected]
Dr Sandy Skelton: [email protected]
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Reducing demand as well as supply
• AtpresentthemajorityofenvironmentallyextendedeconomicmodelsthatareusedtoidentifypotentialpathwaystomeetingGHGemissionreductiontargets,tendtoputgreateremphasisonsupply-sideoptionsforreducingemissions.• However,supplysidesolutionstaketimetoplan,commissionandconstructandthereisstillmuchuncertaintyassociatedwithcriticalcarbonsequestrationtechnologies.• Consequently,thereductioninemissionsnecessarytoachievetheambitioustargettolimitglobaltemperatureincreasetobelow2°Ccannotbeachievedthroughsupply-sidesolutionsalone(Andersonetal.,2014).
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Reducing demand• IntheUKthereisagreatdealofpotentialtoreducedemand.• TheindirectGHGemissionsembodiedinthedemandforgoodsandservicesaccountforapproximatelyathirdofthetotalGHGemissions(BarrettandScott,2012).• Thechallengeistofindwaystoachievethiswithoutnegativeimpactsonwelfare.
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Wasted consumption
• Previousresearchsuggeststhatasignificantamountofproductspurchasedarewasted:• Questedetal.,(2012):18%offoodanddrinkbroughtintoUKhouseholdsiswasted• 30%ofclothesboughtbyUKconsumersareleftunwornathome(Gracey andMoon,2012)
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Regretted consumption
• Post-purchaseregretpresentsthepossibilitythatthereareopportunitiestoreducedemandforgoods- andthereforetheembodiedGHGemissionsassociatedwiththisdemand– atalowerwelfareloss.
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MethodologyHowcanweexploretheextentandpotentialopportunitiespresentedbyregrettedconsumption?
• Nationallyrepresentativesurveyofselfreportedregrettedconsumptiontoexplore:
• Extentandtypeofregrettedconsumption• Reasonsunderpinningregrettedconsumption• Impactofregrettedconsumption
• Qualitativewalkinginterviewswith37participants:• Toexplore,indepth,thewayinwhichpeopleunderstand
regrettedconsumptionthroughacasestudyofdomesticappliances
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Survey findings
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Survey findings The tendency to regret across different consumer groups
White-collarworkershavemoreregrets
Theeffectofcost-consciousnessonregretismarginalandthesignoftherelationshipdependsonthemodelchosen
Regretreduceswithage
Peoplewhoenjoyshoppingaremarginallymorelikelytoregretpurchasesoncecontrollingfordifferencesinproducttype
Menaresignificantlymorelikelytoregretpurchasesoncecontrollingfordifferencesinregretbyproducttype
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Survey findingsReported reasons for regret
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Questions raised by the survey• Previousresearchintoself-reportsurveyssuggeststhatrespondentsmaywellhaveunderreportedtheirlevelsofregret.• Nevertheless,theresultssuggestthatthereisadegreeofself-assessedover-consumptionthat,ifreduced,couldhelptoreducepressuresontheenvironment.• Theyalsocallintoquestiontheassumption,commonacrossmanyeconomicmodels,thatthecurrentlevelofdemandisnecessarilydesirable.
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Findings from the qualitative walking interviews
• Thewalkinginterviewsfocusedonunderstandingthedynamicsofenergyintensivedomesticpractices.Thisincludedunderstandingthewaytheparticipantsutiliseddevices.• Theparticipantswereaskedanumberofquestionsabouteachdeviceintheirhome,includingwhethertheyregrettedpurchasingit.• However,whendirectlyaskediftheyregrettedpurchasingaspecificitemveryfewpeoplesaidyes.
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Regretted purchase of electronic devices
Theinitialanalysisofthequalitativedatasupportedfindingsofthesurvey,thatregrettedpurchasesofelectronicdeviceswasrelativelylow.
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Regret is a complex emotion
• Furtheranalysisshowedthattherespondentsindirectlyexpressedagreatdealofregretaboutelectronicdevicestheyhadpurchased.• However,itwasn’ttheproductitselftheyregretted,butthattheyhadfeltthey‘HAD’tobuyit.• This‘pressure’tomakeunwantedpurchasescamefromtwosources:• Disappointmentthatapreviousappliancehadprematurelybroken
• Pressurefromsocietytoownaparticulardeviceortypeofdevice
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Broken devices in a throw away society
• Anumberofparticipantsexpressedregretthattheyhadhadtoreplace‘essential’itemssuchaswashingmachines,fridgesandboilersmuchsoonerthantheyanticipated.Manyalsonotedthatpreviousversionshadlastedmuchlonger.• Therewasageneralagreementthatcontemporaryproductswerenotdesignedtolast.• Furthermore,manyparticipantsperceivedthatitisverydifficulttofixcontemporaryproductsandnormallycheapertobuynewones.
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‘Essential’ for modern life?
• Participantsalsonotedthattheyoftenfeltunderarangeofsocietalpressuretopurchasenewitems.• InparticularthedigitalswitchoverhadforcedmanypeopletobuynewTVsorsettopboxes.Whiletheydidn’tnecessarilyregretthepurchasesthemselvestheyfeltthattheyshouldn'thavehadtobuytheminthefirstplace.• Othershadfeltpressurefromfamily,friends,neighboursandcolleaguestobuyup-to-dateelectronicgadgetstoperformfunctionswhichtheyhadpreviouslysurvivedwithout(communicatingviasocialmediawasapopularexample).
• Hereregretmanifesteditselfthroughthepressuretopurchaseratherthantheitemsacquired.
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Conclusions• Thisresearchhashighlightedthatasignificantproportionofconsumptionisregretted.Furthermore,itisimportanttorecognisethatparticipantsinboththesurveyandtheinterviewsprobablyunderreportedtheirregrettedconsumption.• Consequently,thereisclearlyscopetoexplorethisareaasapossibletargetforreducing‘demand’withminimallossofwelfare.• However,regrettedconsumptioniscomplicatedandcanbeexpressedinavarietyofways.• Consequently,ifwearetomakethemostofthispotentialopportunitytoreducedemand,itisnecessarytoutilisearangeofmethodologicaltoolstoimproveourunderstandingofthecomplexdynamicsofregrettedconsumption.