Want to find the most eco-friendly shoppers? Don’t look at the 18–34 set. While it’s conventional wisdom that younger shoppers are more “green” than older ones, a new study says nope, it’s ain’t so!
According to The Checkout, a shopper experience study currently underway by The Integer Group and M/A/R/C Research, the demographic with the highest eco-consciousness are those aged 55+. And while consumers are willing to make easy changes such as switching out light bulbs, when it comes to doing something that requires more time, money and effort, such as only purchasing locally-grown organic food or carpooling, the amount of willing participants drops.
“Marketers must focus on the emotional need instead of only the functional benefits if they want to see change,” stated M/A/R/C Research Executive Vice President Randy Wahl as quoted in a MediaPost article on the topic. “They need to make it worth their while. Price and quality are largely functional benefits. An emotional reward that focuses on how consumers feel versus the functional environmental benefit is the territory in which marketers must play.”
It reminds me of the SunChips compostable bag debacle. Sure, consumers want a biodegradable bag, but if it’s too loud, then, well, they hate it. So gimme green — but don’t irritate me to do it!
It’s really quite a sad situation. Study after study shows that consumers want to go green, but they don’t want to experience inconvenience of any kind as part of the process. This study is no exception. (It did show that 24% of shoppers claimed they were willing to pay more for something if it makes them feel like they are contributing to saving the environment, but if it’s all talk and no action, what’s the point?)
If only environmental benefits could be conjured up by wishes, greening the planet would be a lot easier!
Image: Courtesy of The Stock Exchange (uploaded by mapelc)
Innsiperd finace
Shoppers, young or old may wake up one
day, but have a very rude awaking. Peck oil, lose of resources,
impact of climate change, Food security, Co2. Need I say more. They,
all of us need to take these issues into account. The ecological
impact of what we do as consumers is having a dramatic effect on the
Earth. Flying, Drive cars, stay up 24/7 consuming large amounts of
power running the all night parties. Is simply consuming out of
control. Yes, I have been there. May be I should have taken this into
account more. But the fact is. The evidence wasn’t so well-defined
then as it is to day. Now, I work hard at conservation, cut down my
waste. I don’t have a car. Use a bike and public transport. I do this
in a hope it will have an effect, all be it small. .