The relationship between planned obsolescence practices of firms and consumers' product renewal and brand preferences

Planned obsolescence, it is a concept that has been discussed since the beginning of the 20. century, is seen as a method of economic development and is applied by companies in various ways in order to encourage consumers to buy new products more often in this direction. Planned obsolescence, which is seen as a constant source of income for companies, gives businesses a great economic advantage in this regard. The main purpose of planned obsolescence is that the existing product will become obsolete earlier than expected using planned methods and the new product will be purchased by the consumer earlier than expected. Planned obsolescence, which enterprises consider an important factor in terms of gaining economic profit, is implemented by reducing the quality of products, putting the product back to market with minor differences in the design of the product, and producing products that are too costly or impossible to repair. In addition, enterprises also use technology as a means for obsolescence. Products that do not support technological updates are being produced. Elements such as the social environment, advertising and campaigns are also promote the obsolescence of existing products in the consumer mind. Brand is used for purposes such as declaring belonging and ownership, being distinguishable, protecting the consumer and creating value for companies. The brand informs the consumer about the manufacturer of the product and gives consumers the opportunity to find the product they are looking for more easily and quickly. Brand is one of the most valuable assets that a company has. Although brand is an abstract concept, it is one of the most valuable elements of a company that makes profit, affects the consumer and instills confidence in consumers. In this study, the relationship between planned decaying strategies and brand preference is discussed. At the same time, the effect of planned obsolescence strategies on consumers ' mobile phone renewal intention has been analyzed. Within the scope of the study, it was examined whether the opinions of the participants regarding the planned aging strategies differed based on demographic characteristics. As a result of the research, it was seen that there is a significant relationship between economic decaying and technological aging and brand preference in a positive direction and weak force. No significant results were found between quality decaying and psychological aging and brand preference. It has been seen that planned obsolescence strategies have a significant impact on consumers ' mobile phone renewal intention. According to the results of the analysis, it was seen that the planned aging strategy, that has the most effect on the intention of consumers to renew their mobile phones is technological aging. It has been determined that the planned obsolescence element, which affects the mobile phone renewal intention of consumers at the least level, is economic obsolescence. It was also revealed as a result of the analyses that the opinions of the participants about the planned obsolescence strategy differed based on demographic characteristics.