The average American now holds onto their smartphone for 29 months, according to a recent survey by Reviews.org, and that cycle is getting longer. The average was around 22 months in 2016.
While squeezing as much life out of your device as possible may save money in the short run, especially amid widespread fears about the strength of the consumer and job market, it might cost the economy in the long run, especially when device hoarding occurs at the level of corporations.
Research released by the Federal Reserve last month concludes that each additional year companies delay upgrading equipment results in a productivity decline of about one-third of a percent, with investment patterns accounting for approximately 55% of productivity gaps between advanced economies. The good news: businesses in the U.S. are generally quicker to reinvest in replacing aging equipment. The Federal Reserve report shows that if European productivity had matched U.S. investment patterns starting in 2000, the productivity gap between the U.S and European economic heavyweights would have been reduced by 29 percent for the U.K., 35 percent for France, and 101% for Germany.
…so the joke goes… A woman comes into the store where she bought a toaster 45 years previous, she wishes to compliment the company for its many years of use and get a new toaster. The salesman is beside himself and calls his supervisor. The supervisor is also surprised and calls his boss in regional sales. Eventually, the woman is sent to the President of the company where she is thanked for her continues patronage, and is given a new toaster. The President of the company takes the old toaster to his Research and Development Department, and tells them, “Find out how this lasted so long and make sure it NEVER happens again!”
The most hilarious thing about this is that a toaster, being little more than a spring-loaded tray and heating elements, should last for decades to come. But they don’t, because profits.