Consumer in circular economy A mixed method study of consumer attitude towards toy rental subscription service in Sweden

Abstract

The children’s toy industry is facing much criticism for creating huge environmental footprints due to its plastic-intensive manufacturing process and linear consumption paradigm. While use-oriented product service systems (PSS) such as product renting and leasing models have been gradually applied and gaining attention in other industries, there is still scarcity of successful PSS implementation in the toy industry. The purpose of this study is to investigate Swedish consumer’s attitudes and their openness towards a novel service offering - toys rental subscription service, which is still an under-researched topic in academia, and thus explore how to stimulate the demand for this type of circular consumption. A mixed-method design with a deductive research strategy was chosen. The theoretical framework used for the discussion was adapted from Diffusion of Innovation Theory. The findings suggest that consumer’s demographic characteristics, previous consumption patterns and their perception about the service will affect their intention to adopt and subscription choices. In order to increase the adoption rate, the service provider should offer other intangible benefits in addition to a unique product assortment, such as recommendation and customization, which could be enabled by integrating innovative technologies into service features design.