Personalization of Products in the Industry 4.0 Concept and Its Impact on Achieving a Higher Level of Sustainable Consumption

Abstract

Sustainability is among the most important directions in global development. The challenge today is to reconcile the fastest possible economic growth and the pursuit of prosperity with concern for the environment. One of the important problems of modern economies and societies is to reduce overall consumption and implement new patterns of sustainable consumption and production. The main aim of this article was to analyze consumer preferences in terms of purchasing personalized production offered by implementing the concept of Industry 4.0 and ensuring sustainable consumption and production (SCP). Based on the analysis of the literature and the results of our own research, an attempt was made to estimate the impact of personalized production offered by the Industry 4.0 concept on SCP and thus the sustainable development of the economy. This article presents the results of a survey conducted on a selected group of consumers, focusing on learning about expectations, consumer preferences for personalized products and conscious consumption, and the results of a survey conducted using the Servqual method, determining the level of customer satisfaction with the purchase of personalized products. The most important achievement was to demonstrate a high level of consumer satisfaction with buying personalized products and the positive impact of personalized production on sustainable consumption. At the same time, the importance of developing the Industry 4.0 concept for supporting sustainable consumption-oriented consumer behavior is emphasized.