Europe 1 with AFP 1:44 p.m., November 18, 2021
According to a study, the lifespan of the household appliances most used by the French has remained stable in ten years.
Some devices, such as the hair dryer, have experienced a significant increase in their lifespan.
A phenomenon linked to new consumption habits.
Was the feeling of planned obsolescence an illusion?
According to a barometer published Thursday by the Group of brands of home appliances (Gifam), the lifespan of household appliances most used by the French has remained stable in ten years.
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A "particularly stable" lifespan
For this first edition of its barometer, Gifam has selected eight household appliances.
The large household appliances thus include the washing machine, the dishwasher, the refrigerator and the oven.
The small appliances category also includes the canister vacuum cleaner, toaster, kettle and hair dryer.
Large household appliances analyzed between 2009 and 2019 benefit from a "particularly stable" lifespan, underlines Gifam. The washing machine and dishwasher have unchanged lifespans of 10 and 11 years respectively. For the refrigerator, the average lifespan remains 12 years. The only decrease is that the oven goes from 15 to 13 years, which is explained in particular by the attractiveness of equipped kitchens, which has accelerated "the renewal of appliances in recent years", according to Gifam.
Regarding small household appliances, the analysis covers the period from 2010 to 2020. The kettle (9 years in 2020 against 8 years in 2010) and the toaster (12 years in 2020 against 13 years in 2010) show a stable service life.
The vacuum cleaner is on the rise, from 6 to 9 years old, as is the hair dryer, which has gone from 11 to 14 years old.
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New consumption habits
To explain this, Gifam highlights the evolution of new consumption habits.
The arrival in households of new products such as the stick vacuum cleaner or the robot, which reduce the frequency of use of canister vacuum cleaners, contributing to the extension of their lifespan.
For the hair dryer, the confinements in 2020 did not encourage their renewal, explains Gifam.
To determine the lifespan of each product, Gifam relied on two data sources: the number of devices held by households determined by the national study on household equipment (Kantar-TNS) and GfK data on sales of household electrical products made each year in France.