4.2
Francesca Toolkit
Circular Consumer Compass
A tool to map consumer attitudes, needs and barriers towards circular furniture offers such as second-hand, repair or leasing.
4
Phase
Format
Expertise
Objective
The Circular Consumer Compass helps organisations understand how consumers perceive, interpret, and adopt circular products and services. The tool supports companies in identifying the motivations, barriers, attitudes, and behavioural patterns that shape consumer responses to circular business models. It enables organisations to design circular offerings that align with real consumer expectations and behavioural dynamics.
What the Tool Is
The Circular Consumer Compass is a behavioural insight tool used to map how consumers interact with circular economy solutions. It helps organisations analyse consumer motivations, barriers, perceptions, habits, and decision triggers that influence the adoption of circular products and services. The compass provides a structured way to translate consumer insights into actionable design decisions for circular value propositions and circular business models.
When to Use the Tool
The Circular Consumer Compass is particularly useful when organisations are designing or refining circular offerings and need to understand consumer behaviour more deeply. It can be used when companies are:
- Designing circular products or services
- Testing new circular business model concepts
- Understanding consumer resistance to circular solutions
- Developing reuse, repair, refurbishment, or leasing models
- Designing consumer engagement strategies
- Preparing market experiments or pilots
Expected Output
The exercise produces a Consumer Behaviour Insight Map describing:
- Drivers encouraging circular consumption
- Key barriers limiting adoption
- Consumer perceptions of circular solutions
- Existing habits and practices affecting behaviour
- Decision triggers enabling behavioural shifts
- Trade-offs influencing consumer choices
This insight map helps organisations design circular offerings and communication strategies that better align with real consumer behaviour.
Identify Consumer Motivations
Explore the drivers encouraging circular behaviour such as economic savings, environmental concern, product quality, or identity values.
Identify Adoption Barriers
Analyse frictions that may prevent consumers from adopting circular solutions such as higher upfront prices, perceived effort, or trust concerns.
Analyse Attitudes and Perceptions
Examine how consumers interpret circular solutions and whether they associate them with positive or negative meanings.
Examine Habits and Practices
Identify existing routines related to purchasing, maintaining, repairing, or disposing of products.
Identify Decision Triggers
Map events or moments that create opportunities for behavioural change.
Identify Trade-offs and Tensions
Explore contradictions shaping consumer decision-making.
Placeholder use case for the Circular Consumer Compass. Describe a real company applying this tool and the outcome.
Resources
