Consumers Will Be Green — IF it Saves Them Money
With worries about jobs and the economy most on their minds, there has been a noticeable shift in consumer behavior regarding going “green”. Consumers are willing to buy things like energy-efficient products and services, but only if they see immediate savings.
The Shelton Group has just released one of their four annual surveys which indicated 71% of consumers required saving money as a reason to buy energy-efficient products. In a notable change from pre-recession surveys conducted by Shelton (2006 and 2007) when consumers often cited “to protect the environment” as the primary reason, now far fewer chose that reason (55%) or “to protect the quality of life for future generations” (49%).
“Americans are concerned about their jobs, their homes, and their bank accounts. They’re now more focused on saving money than saving the Amazon,” said Suzanne Shelton, president of The Shelton Group, which conducted the study. “Yes, conserving energy is the greenest thing anybody can do, but consumers are not buying more efficient products because they want to save the world. They want products that can save them money in the long run.”
The survey also indicated that consumers indicate they are more likely to take a number of energy-efficient measures after learning they would save over the long term. For example 44% are likely to buy a programmable thermostat (32% already have).
on March 24, 2009 on 4:27 pm
That’s a good point. Sure, there are people who will still spend the money to make a green statement where a financial ROI may not be justified (Prius) vs. a high mileage non-hybrid similar sized car.
The cool thing is that there are many ways to contribute to environmental savings without spending money such as unsubscribing from junk mail and phone books one doesn’t plan on using.
on March 25, 2009 on 8:49 pm
You are a real hero environmental hero Ed.
We’d give you a medal but that requires the use of resources, fossil fuels, electricity, and carbon offsets to get it to you. Of course all of that would also require that people be employed in each of those steps.
So instead you will just have to accept our heartfelt thanks.
on March 26, 2009 on 3:41 am
This site is called Yellow Pages Environmental Forum, right? That being the case, why am I on the receiving end of snarky responses to legitimate comments regarding environmental issues concerning yellow pages?
on March 26, 2009 on 8:56 pm
Because Ed your comments are repetitive. We get your point. Come up with a new one.
on March 29, 2009 on 3:32 pm
Ken, what would it take to get you to understand that it’s greener to not print and distribute something that isn’t used instead of recycling it?
on April 2, 2009 on 6:29 pm
Each publisher makes a business decision on how many directories to print in each market. They make that decision based on the distribution area the book covers and the supplemental copies they have found they usually deliver over the year to new movers who come to the area. Ideally each publisher strives to have no copies left, or at least the minimal number at the end of that books print cycle. That’s not only a good business practices but it’s also an effort to be as environmentally oriented as possible.
As I and others have stated to you on numerous times, publishers are moving towards implementing opt-out programs for people like you that the detest the very existence of these valuable marketing and information sources. But since you don’t want to hear that I’m not sure if there is anything I could say that would please you.
But I can tell you this Ed, when you take my words and twist them on your website like you’ve done relative to this news item, it really does make you seem to be a little desperate for attention. I didn’t say that “people won’t make environmentally friendly choices unless they’re financially beneficial”, its what the study said. If you disagree with their findings perhaps you should be sending your comments to them. But since you chose to disparage me and not the results, I can only assume you must agree with their results…..