© Tomas Ragina/Shutterstock
While a year ago, repair bonus figures were hard to come by, at the end of December 2024, the popular financial aid from the state has picked up again. According to figures reported by Ecosystem, the organization responsible for financing the initiative, Bonus cut the bill by 670,000 repairs.
Thanks to the use of this bonus, a total of more than 23 million euros was saved. Despite this stratospheric growth compared to last year, when only €4 million was committed, only 20% of the annual envelope was used this year. 100 million and some still remain in the coffers of the ecosystem, even more if we count the amounts allocated for textile or furniture repair bonuses (which are managed by other organizations).
Smartphones, the big winners
Surprisingly, it’s the smartphones that take the prize of the most repaired devices with over 360,000 devices tested. Then washing machines, then dishwashers.
The dominance of smartphones in this category mainly extends the bonus to “accidental” breakage, such as screen breakage. Also note that the average compensation amount has increased, going from €24 to €33 from 2023 to 2024. Here too, it is the “Super Bonus”, introduced in 2024, that played a role.
On the remote repair side, Sparica claims “Over 10,000 bonus endorsements in less than 10 months.5,500 views with the record month of November. Enough to legitimize the practice, it also made it eligible for bonuses this year.
Still not enough verified stores.
However, all is not rosy. The widespread use of remote repair also masks the significant lack of certified stores in the region. As the Halte à Programmed Obsolescence (HOP) Association explains:Only 1/3 of electrical and electronic equipment repairers are certified.“On the territory.
As the association already noted at the time of the bonus’s first anniversary, the administrative burden on companies wishing to obtain the label is overwhelming according to numerous testimonies. For example the Fnac-Darty group has recently received the famous QualiRépar seal.
List of products eligible for repair bonus © Qualirépar
HOP also regrets the lack of communication on this topic and the great confusion about bonuses. The association is campaigning for the creation of a single, cross-industry platform, acting as a directory to find all eligible stores, regardless of sector. Currently, your smartphone, pair of shoes, or office chair are all eligible for the bonus, but each requires finding eligible stores on a different platform.
Big stakes
It must be said that the stakes are high. To meet its goals, the bonus will have used its entire envelope by 2027. Of the 512 million budgeted, only 27 have been used today. Unless you make a serious second bet, it’s hard to see how the bonus will cover your bet.
If the HOP welcomes the population’s interest in the bonus, the association hopes the process will be “widely harmonized and deployed”. Sparica, for its part, calls for “increasing eligible products” and “increasing the number of certified repairers.”
