Why on earth did I buy that?! A study of regretted consumption

practicesDr Thomas Roberts: t.m.roberts@surrey.ac.uk

Dr Sandy Skelton: a.c.h.skelton@eng.cam.ac.uk

Reducing demand as well as supply

• AtpresentthemajorityofenvironmentallyextendedeconomicmodelsthatareusedtoidentifypotentialpathwaystomeetingGHGemissionreductiontargets,tendtoputgreateremphasisonsupply-sideoptionsforreducingemissions.• However,supplysidesolutionstaketimetoplan,commissionandconstructandthereisstillmuchuncertaintyassociatedwithcriticalcarbonsequestrationtechnologies.• Consequently,thereductioninemissionsnecessarytoachievetheambitioustargettolimitglobaltemperatureincreasetobelow2°Ccannotbeachievedthroughsupply-sidesolutionsalone(Andersonetal.,2014).

Reducing demand• IntheUKthereisagreatdealofpotentialtoreducedemand.• TheindirectGHGemissionsembodiedinthedemandforgoodsandservicesaccountforapproximatelyathirdofthetotalGHGemissions(BarrettandScott,2012).• Thechallengeistofindwaystoachievethiswithoutnegativeimpactsonwelfare.

Wasted consumption

• Previousresearchsuggeststhatasignificantamountofproductspurchasedarewasted:• Questedetal.,(2012):18%offoodanddrinkbroughtintoUKhouseholdsiswasted• 30%ofclothesboughtbyUKconsumersareleftunwornathome(Gracey andMoon,2012)

Regretted consumption

• Post-purchaseregretpresentsthepossibilitythatthereareopportunitiestoreducedemandforgoods- andthereforetheembodiedGHGemissionsassociatedwiththisdemand– atalowerwelfareloss.

MethodologyHowcanweexploretheextentandpotentialopportunitiespresentedbyregrettedconsumption?

• Nationallyrepresentativesurveyofselfreportedregrettedconsumptiontoexplore:

• Extentandtypeofregrettedconsumption• Reasonsunderpinningregrettedconsumption• Impactofregrettedconsumption

• Qualitativewalkinginterviewswith37participants:• Toexplore,indepth,thewayinwhichpeopleunderstand

regrettedconsumptionthroughacasestudyofdomesticappliances

Survey findings

Survey findings The tendency to regret across different consumer groups

White-collarworkershavemoreregrets

Theeffectofcost-consciousnessonregretismarginalandthesignoftherelationshipdependsonthemodelchosen

Regretreduceswithage

Peoplewhoenjoyshoppingaremarginallymorelikelytoregretpurchasesoncecontrollingfordifferencesinproducttype

Menaresignificantlymorelikelytoregretpurchasesoncecontrollingfordifferencesinregretbyproducttype

Survey findingsReported reasons for regret

Questions raised by the survey• Previousresearchintoself-reportsurveyssuggeststhatrespondentsmaywellhaveunderreportedtheirlevelsofregret.• Nevertheless,theresultssuggestthatthereisadegreeofself-assessedover-consumptionthat,ifreduced,couldhelptoreducepressuresontheenvironment.• Theyalsocallintoquestiontheassumption,commonacrossmanyeconomicmodels,thatthecurrentlevelofdemandisnecessarilydesirable.

Findings from the qualitative walking interviews

• Thewalkinginterviewsfocusedonunderstandingthedynamicsofenergyintensivedomesticpractices.Thisincludedunderstandingthewaytheparticipantsutiliseddevices.• Theparticipantswereaskedanumberofquestionsabouteachdeviceintheirhome,includingwhethertheyregrettedpurchasingit.• However,whendirectlyaskediftheyregrettedpurchasingaspecificitemveryfewpeoplesaidyes.

Regretted purchase of electronic devices

Theinitialanalysisofthequalitativedatasupportedfindingsofthesurvey,thatregrettedpurchasesofelectronicdeviceswasrelativelylow.

Regret is a complex emotion

• Furtheranalysisshowedthattherespondentsindirectlyexpressedagreatdealofregretaboutelectronicdevicestheyhadpurchased.• However,itwasn’ttheproductitselftheyregretted,butthattheyhadfeltthey‘HAD’tobuyit.• This‘pressure’tomakeunwantedpurchasescamefromtwosources:• Disappointmentthatapreviousappliancehadprematurelybroken

• Pressurefromsocietytoownaparticulardeviceortypeofdevice

Broken devices in a throw away society

• Anumberofparticipantsexpressedregretthattheyhadhadtoreplace‘essential’itemssuchaswashingmachines,fridgesandboilersmuchsoonerthantheyanticipated.Manyalsonotedthatpreviousversionshadlastedmuchlonger.• Therewasageneralagreementthatcontemporaryproductswerenotdesignedtolast.• Furthermore,manyparticipantsperceivedthatitisverydifficulttofixcontemporaryproductsandnormallycheapertobuynewones.

‘Essential’ for modern life?

• Participantsalsonotedthattheyoftenfeltunderarangeofsocietalpressuretopurchasenewitems.• InparticularthedigitalswitchoverhadforcedmanypeopletobuynewTVsorsettopboxes.Whiletheydidn’tnecessarilyregretthepurchasesthemselvestheyfeltthattheyshouldn'thavehadtobuytheminthefirstplace.• Othershadfeltpressurefromfamily,friends,neighboursandcolleaguestobuyup-to-dateelectronicgadgetstoperformfunctionswhichtheyhadpreviouslysurvivedwithout(communicatingviasocialmediawasapopularexample).

• Hereregretmanifesteditselfthroughthepressuretopurchaseratherthantheitemsacquired.

Conclusions• Thisresearchhashighlightedthatasignificantproportionofconsumptionisregretted.Furthermore,itisimportanttorecognisethatparticipantsinboththesurveyandtheinterviewsprobablyunderreportedtheirregrettedconsumption.• Consequently,thereisclearlyscopetoexplorethisareaasapossibletargetforreducing‘demand’withminimallossofwelfare.• However,regrettedconsumptioniscomplicatedandcanbeexpressedinavarietyofways.• Consequently,ifwearetomakethemostofthispotentialopportunitytoreducedemand,itisnecessarytoutilisearangeofmethodologicaltoolstoimproveourunderstandingofthecomplexdynamicsofregrettedconsumption.