Certifying a third-party repair service can help companies retain customers by signaling that there's value, or "unused utility," left in broken products, according to a team led by Penn State researchers.
The researchers, who were raised by parents and grandparents with what they called a "fix it" mindset, said they noticed a trend toward disposable consumption over recent decades. This trend leads consumers to replace, rather than repair, broken goods, which end up in landfills. The team wanted to see if brand repair services increased repair rates of durable goods like laptops and stand mixers while addressing two major concerns: that repairs would eat into sales numbers, and the cost of hosting an in-house repair service.
The researchers found that certifying third-party repair services - external companies that are brand-approved to fix specific broken products - benefitted brands, third-party service providers and consumers. Those third-party certifications signaled to consumers that there was unused utility - or life left - in their broken products, increased repair rates and helped brands retain market share by avoiding customer switching behavior. The team reported their findings in the Journal of Consumer Research.
"Having an in-house brand repair service is a cost center, it's effortful," said study co-author Karen Winterich, distinguished professor of marketing at Penn State's Smeal College of Business. "We found that third-party certification helps the brand reap the same benefits as having an in-house repair service, seem more sustainable and keep customers satisfied with their purchases."
To determine the impact of certified brand repair services on third-party providers, consumers and companies, the researchers conducted a series of six experiments.
First, the researchers collaborated with third-party computer repair companies. As part of the study, 2,056 American consumers saw one of two identical social media posts advertising laptop repair services. When a consumer clicked on the social media post, they were directed to one of two landing pages: both pages featured a major laptop brand's logo, but only one version of the landing page advertised that the repair service had brand-certified repair technicians. The researchers found that consumers were nearly twice as likely to initiate a repair with the brand-certified service compared to service without brand certification. A second study followed this same design for a different third-party repair service and major laptop brand, again finding that brand certification increases repair leads with over a 700% increase.
