Examining the ‘Consumer Repair Journey’ and Business Intervention Opportunities to Enhance Customer Experience and Satisfaction

The current linear economic model has led to the creation of low-priced and short-lived products at the cost of shaping fast and unsustainable consumption. Product repair, the process of maintaining the functionality of items by correcting a defect, should, in theory, retain product value and improve material efficiency. However, the transformation of current repair practices requires the comprehensive engagement of consumers and different business stakeholders, including manufacturers, retailers and repair service providers. In particular, the repair journey that consumers go through when deciding whether (and how) to repair an item involves a set of complex decisions and actions. This paper aims to provide a synthesis of this sequence and address the complexity of the consumer’s repair journey, considering different product sectors. To achieve this aim, the research consisted of a set of consumer focus groups to gather insights into consumers’ repair journeys, considering four stages: identification of product faults and repair need, information search and evaluation of alternatives, repair in action and post-repair evaluation. The paper contributes to the field by developing a holistic ‘consumer repair journey’ framework and presents findings on the factors that influence consumer intentions, how these intentions translate into behaviour at each stage, and overall satisfaction during the journey. Additionally, it provides guidance to industry professionals on how to implement interventions that could positively impact consumer repair intentions and their translation into behaviour. These interventions could align with companies’ strategic efforts to embrace customer experience, ‘right to repair’ initiatives, and the growth of sustainable, repair-focused enterprises across various product industries, as advocated by the European Commission (2020) and, more recently, Right to Repair Europe (2023).