Have you ever found yourself with a broken dishwasher or phone and an exorbitant quote to have it repaired? Well you are not alone. According to a study carried out by Harris Interactive for ADEME in 2019, price is the No. 1 reason that dissuades the general public from repairing their devices. This obstacle is cited by 68% of respondents, ahead of “irreparability of products or planned obsolescence (51%)” and the “fears about the repair itself (40%)“.
The first concern is therefore above all economic. And despite the repair bonus being in place a year ago, habits do not seem to have radically changed. However, there is an effective indicator to combat fatigue with the cost of repairs: the psychological threshold of 33%.
The rule of thirds
Identified by Ademe in 2021, this figure represents “the psychological threshold for consumers from which replacement of equipment is preferred to repair“. To put it another way, if repairing a fridge costs more than a third of the price of a new fridge, the majority of people will prefer to opt for a new fridge.
If repairing a fridge costs more than a third of the price of a new fridge, the majority of people will prefer to opt for a new fridge
“Faced with the choice between buying a new product guaranteed for 2 years, easily accessible, and making the effort to repair your faulty product, the factor of the price of the repair therefore appears crucial so that the operation is not only a responsible consumption choice , but also, as much as possible, a rational and economical choice” notes Hop in his recent report dedicated to the repair bonus.
Not all products are equal when it comes to repair
If the figure was first born in studies carried out on the household appliances market, it seems to be just as valid for other electronic devices. In 2019, Ademe noted that, of the 31% of French people declaring “have a broken or broken smartphone in the last two years“, the use of repair did not exceed 35% of the devices concerned due to the “cost of repair compared to new (41%)“. A reason cited with the same frequency concerning the repairability of televisions and computers.
The recent report from the Consumption, Housing and Living Environment association on the repair bonus also demonstrates the same dynamic. The three categories of most repaired products – namely telephones, washing machines and dishwashers – are those which benefit from the best discount rate on the repair bonus scale, with a respective reduction of 28%. 16% and 15% of the average repair amount.
A mess of avenues for improvement
Faced with this problem, actors such as HOP or the Right to Repair Europe movement are campaigning for stricter control of the price of spare parts, since they are the ones that often determine the cost of repairs. There are also numerous levers for reducing the price of repairs: reduced VAT on repair activities, ceiling price, increase in the repair bonus, dynamic amount of aid depending on the price of the part, etc.
There is no shortage of ideas or examples for that matter. In Sweden, for example, the VAT rate for repairs fell from 25 to 12% in 2016. Repairs on bicycles and clothing have even been subject to a VAT rate of only 6% since 2022. The idea is to catch up then this shortfall thanks to the growth of the repair industry.
As HOP notes, keeping the cost of repairs below this psychological threshold “must constitute a key objective in order to significantly ramp up repair“To succeed in this challenge, however, ambitious measures will have to be taken.