EXPRESS: Buy Less, Buy Luxury: Understanding and Overcoming Product Durability Neglect for Sustainable Consumption

The authors propose that high-end goods, such as luxury apparel, can be more sustainable than mass-market products because they have a longer life-cycle. Across six studies, the authors examine the sustainability of high-end products, investigate consumers’ decision making when considering high-end versus ordinary goods, and identify effective marketing strategies to emphasize product durability, an important and valued dimension of sustainable consumption. Real-world data on new and secondhand accessories demonstrate that high-end goods can be more sustainable than mid-range products because they have a longer life-cycle. Furthermore, consumers engage in more sustainable behaviors with high-end goods, owning them for longer and disposing them in more environmentally friendly manners. Nevertheless, a series of studies shows that many consumers prefer to allocate the same budget on multiple ordinary goods in lieu of fewer high-end products partly because of product durability neglect, a failure to consider how long a product will last. Finally, this research offers actionable strategies for marketers to help consumers overcome product durability neglect and nudge them towards concentrating their budget on fewer high-end, durable products.