A study by the US-based Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) and Deloitte has revealed that 54 per cent of shoppers 'actively consider' environmental sustainability issues when shopping, but that they only purchase green products on 22 per cent of their shopping trips.
The survey questioned over 6,400 consumers as part of a Deloitte report entitled 'Finding the Green in Today's Shoppers: Sustainability Trends and New Shopper Insights'.
According to the report, 95 per cent of consumers are open to purchasing green products, 67 per cent actively look for green products, 47 per cent found such products while shopping and 22 per cent made a purchase – a fact which shows better marketing campaigns are required, Deloitte said.
'We found that for most shoppers, sustainable considerations are an important tie-breaker when deciding between two otherwise equal products and they are a driver in product switching,' said GMA's director of sales and sales promotion Brian Lynch. 'But it's not enough to just out green products on the shelf – we have to better educate consumers and leverage in-store communication to make the sale.'
Reasons for not purchaisng green products included concerns about the credibility of environmental claims and performance of the product itself, although a 'significant minority' was prepared to pay a premium for sustainable products.
'Sustainable product characteristics are emerging as an important brand differentiator, but to capture the potential market value of green shoppers, retailers and manufacturers must do a better job of communicating the sustainable attributes behind the products to show the value of buying green to the shopper,' said Deloitte's Scott Bearse.
Elliot Penner, GMA's sustainability task force leader, noted that the study combined two of the consumer product industry's top priorities – meeting consumer demand and reducing the environmental footprint.
'Understanding consumer expectations and shopping behaviour are critical to the development of the industry's overall strategy on environmental sustainability,' he said.
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