Today, the digital association Bitkom published the latest results of a consumer survey on the topic of sustainability in the use of electronic devices. The results show that half of German consumers can imagine buying a used and refurbished device in the future and 13 percent have already done so.
For this representative study, Bitkom Research, on behalf of the digital association Bitkom, surveyed a total of 1,005 people aged 16 and above in Germany by telephone in September 2021 on climate protection and sustainability in the use of digital and electronic devices.
These are further details:
- 13 percent of German consumers said they had already bought a refurbished device and 50 percent could imagine doing so in the future.
- Among the younger respondents aged 16 to 29, 21 percent have already bought a refurbished device. Among those aged 30 to 49, the figure was 13 percent, 11 percent among those aged 50 to 64 and 8 percent among those aged 65 and over.
- 74 percent of consumers said they wanted to use their device for as long as possible before replacing it with a new one. 55 percent already had their digital or electronic device repaired instead of buying new.
- For sustainable and energy-saving use of their end devices, consumers delete superfluous e-mails, data or apps to save memory resources and thus energy (61 percent), avoid standby and switch off electronic devices completely (51 percent), use the energy-saving function on laptops or monitors (44 percent), reduce their screen brightness (21 percent) or consciously opt for a smaller screen (19 percent).
Niklas Meyer-Breitkreutz, sustainability expert at Bitkom, commented: "The longer a device is used, the better its environmental balance and the less waste it produces. Although refurbished devices are used, they are usually professionally refurbished, cleaned and tested. There are now several companies that specialize in this segment alone. Even the world market leaders among the manufacturers take discarded devices in exchange for a new purchase and offer them again completely refurbished. This is not only sustainable, but customers also save money and even receive a warranty on the devices again."
Source: Bitkom
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