Researchers say they were surprised to learn that those who actually purchased the greener products were baby boomers, while the younger crowd was more hesitant. Of the 6,400 shoppers surveyed, only 22 percent ended up buying green products that day.
The study was conducted by Grocery Manufacturers Association and Deloitte, which concludes that marketers' takeaway message is that:
"consumers are missing their green messages. Since 95% of all those surveyed say they would be willing to buy a green product and only 22% do, "it's clear green products are getting lost in the store. A good sustainable product strategy provides clear visibility and selling cues to the shopper to highlight green products in the assortment."
It seems to me that if the actual purchasers of the greener products are baby boomers, and if most people aren't, in the end, choosing to buy green, the greatest determining factor might just be price. People aren't used to spending so much on groceries, and many people simply can't.
Jordana G. says:
I had a great conversation with Diane M. (aka Diane McEachern, author of "Big Green Purse") about messaging, after writing the above post. She explained that the issue is, in fact, messaging, and green brands haven't yet nailed this.
I found her example illuminating and, as I checked out at Safeway last night and saw what those around me were buying compared to what I was buying, pretty fascinating.
Essentially, people will spend a ton of money on things they don't really need and that aren't good for them because they've received messaging telling them to do so.
Consider this:
For exhibit A, let's take bottled vs. tap water ... and conventional vs. organic milk.
In 2008, the NY Times reported that organic milk was closing in on an average $7/gallon. I personally have never bought such expensive organic milk, but let's go with this price. And let's say it's roughly double what you'd pay for a gallon of non-organic milk.
Now to bottled water. If a one-liter bottle of water costs right around $2.50, then a gallon of the very same bottled water costs about $10. According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, bottled water costs up to 10,000 times more per gallon than tap water. This doesn't include the environmental cost to manufacture and discard 40 billion of these in the US every year. Bottled water is completely unnecessary - we know that it's generally no safer or healthier than regular water. And it's way cheaper use a Brita or a filter on your sink.
And yet the very same people who stack shrink-wrapped flats of bottled water in their shopping carts, will tell you that they can't afford to buy organic milk.
Now to messaging. Imagine if there were a cleverly written organic milk commercial, that illustrated what I just wrote? That showed the safety of tap water, unnecessary spending on bottled water, issues conventional milk... and a price comparison between what you're willing to buy and what you're not willing to buy?
Jordana G. says:
And, of course, f the above milk vs. water example doesn't work for you, there are plenty of others. What we're willing to pay for Doritos, say, vs. what we're not willing to pay for organic lettuce. The amount of leftovers we're willing to let go bad in the fridge and throw out vs. what we're not willing to pay for organic pasta. The amount we'll pay for a night out vs. what we're not willing to pay for organic meat.
Anyway, this way of looking at things resonates with me. Anyone else?