Digital product passports have the potential to revamp the customer experience by reshaping the relationship between brands, products and consumers, experts say.
These comprehensive digital records contain data on a product's sustainability footprint that can be read through a QR code or RFID tag on the product.
Today, the customer and product experiences are often separated, but digital product passports force “those two worlds to merge,” said Aslan Patov, founder and CEO of Renascence Consulting.
“CX doesn’t end at the checkout — it continues into the life of the product itself,” Patov said. “It stretches CX into years, not minutes. The product itself becomes a customer service channel.”
Digital product passports aim to boost circularity and sustainability by providing consumers with one-click access to detailed information about a product’s lifecycle origin, materials, environmental impact and end-of-life disposal instructions, according to a June report by Bain & Company and eBay. These digital records could double a product’s lifetime value.
“You walk into a store, scan a jacket and instantly know if it’s really made from recycled fibers — no marketing fluff, just proof,” Patov said. “That changes the entire trust equation.”
The European Union will require nearly every physical product sold in the EU to have a digital product passport by 2030.
“That’s powerful. Because now, the moment of truth isn’t only how the product looks in the store, it’s how it lives in the customer’s hands, how it can be repaired, recycled, authenticated,” Patov said.
Businesses shouldn’t think about digital product passports “as a legal requirement, even if it is,” said Shep Hyken, a customer service and experience expert and author.
“Translate legal language into information that customers can understand and appreciate,” Hyken advises. “Think of it as an extension of your marketing.”
Most manufacturers already have the information needed for digital product passports but could have their goods turned away by customers, face steep fines, or have their products banned in the EU if they don’t have digital product passports or if their digital product passports don’t provide the right information, said Tim Bodill, vice president of enterprise and digital product passport at Pimberly.
“For brands, the stakes are high,” Bodill said.
The future of the resale economy
Digital product passports address the fundamental problem of value depreciation in pre-owned goods by reducing authentication costs, friction and counterfeiting, according to Aaron Cheris, partner and member of the retail, private equity, and customer strategy and marketing practices at Bain & Company.
This makes resale more economically viable for both consumers and platforms.
Digital product passports make it easier for brands to access the secondhand market by allowing them to track ownership after the initial sale, resale trends, and customer preferences across primary and secondary markets, creating new opportunities for targeted marketing and customer acquisition, Cheris said.
It could be a boon for luxury fashion brands.
Fans often purchase secondhand items when their incomes are low, but brands usually don’t know who’s buying them, Cheris said. Then, as their incomes rise, they start to buy new items, allowing brands to establish new customer relationships.
But that process can take years, and digital product passports can “shorten that cycle” by allowing brands to find out who bought a secondhand item, upload that information into their customer relationship management systems, and market to them, Cheris said.
Digital product passports could also enable consumers to easily resell their items through a brand’s e-commerce platform or a resale service, such as GOAT for fashion products or Swappa for electronics, as they don’t need to fill out most product information.
Grading a product's condition, however, is trickier.
“The [digital product passport] can't solve the grading; it can only solve the authentication,” Cheris said. “I haven’t figured out if there’s a scuff or a missing button.”
Luxury brands could increasingly launch their own resale programs and may even guarantee a minimum price based on first-party data, according to Cheris.
“The more I can make you promises, the more compelling the offer is,” Cheris said.
Fashion and electronics brands may also use digital product passports to create or expand service and repair programs. A luxury fashion brand, for instance, could leverage service records to boost an item's resale value.
“Every repair, every service logged,” Patov said. “Suddenly, heritage isn’t something you’re told; it’s something you can see.”
An electronics brand, meanwhile, might notify owners when a new repair facility opens in their area.
“That turns ownership into empowerment,” Patov said.
Implementation could prove challenging
Brands should incorporate digital product passports into their strategy to maximize their value, experts say.
“Every scan, every update, every notification can carry your brand’s tone,” Patov said. “That transforms the product from a static object into a dynamic relationship. A brand that does this right doesn’t just sell — it stays alive in the customer’s pocket.”
But each brand must decide how to leverage digital product passports since investing in new lines of business and operations can be a major commitment.
“Don’t bolt it on. Build it in. Use it to reinforce what your brand already stands for,” Patov advises. “If you’re retail, let it stretch loyalty beyond the store. If you’re electronics, let it reduce service costs and empower self-repair. If you’re luxury, let it heighten exclusivity.”
Businesses with large operations in Europe, for example, may benefit more than those in the U.S. because of the EU mandate and the fact that European consumers care more about sustainability, Cheris said.
But implementation could prove challenging. As older products lack digital product passports, brands will need to maintain separate systems and workflows for products with and without digital product passports, Cheris said. It’s similar to the challenges car dealers face in dealing with new and used vehicles.
“Whenever you have a dual flow, it just makes it more complicated,” Cheris said.
Sound data management is also important for ensuring that businesses and consumers can get the most out of digital product passports.
“If the data’s messy or the interface is clunky, customers will ignore it,” Patov said. “If it feels like legal paperwork, it dies on the spot.”
Brands should make digital product passports as easy to check as a boarding pass and feel “like a concierge,” Patov said.
“What if the value to the customer was immediate — like a resale guarantee, a loyalty point, a tip on how to extend the product’s life?” Patov said. “The shift is from compliance to companionship. That’s where the magic lies.”
But as transparency becomes the industry standard, at least in Europe, brands will increasingly compete on how it feels, according to Patov.
“Make it sterile, and you’re forgotten. Make it alive, and you’re remembered,” Patov said.
