"No fun, but very effective": consumers' evaluation of design strategies for product care

Product care describes consumers' activities to prolong the lifetime of a product, such as repair, maintenance or careful handling. By keeping the product in a functional state, replacement can be postponed. Previous research has identified eight design strategies that can foster product care among consumers. To use these design strategies to their full potential, a deeper understanding of their effectiveness is needed. The current study aimed to evaluate the design strategies with consumers. We conducted interviews with 15 consumers and discussed the effectiveness of our strategies for product care in the consumers’ daily life. Results indicate that the effectiveness of our strategies varies over products and product categories. A combination of strategies seems to be the most promising approach for fostering product care among consumers. Our research contributes to the scientific knowledge by providing deeper insights into the conditions under which design strategies for product care are most effective.