Environmental Friendliness Not Driving PC Sales

October 1, 2008

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Despite the widespread perception that consumers are rapidly adopting green purchasing habits, when it comes to buying new PCs, green considerations remain less important than traditional purchase drivers. According to TDG’s It’s Not Easy Being Green! Part 2, attributes such as functionality, brand, and price will continue to matter most in deciding which PC to purchase, though energy efficiency and environmental friendliness (in that order) can be deciding factors in cases of product parity.

“Consumer technology vendors are spending a fortune on positioning their products and services as eco-friendly or green,” noted Michael Greeson, TDG’s president and principal analyst. “While there is no doubt that going green is an admirable corporate objective, it begs the question as to whether or not consumers are responding to such messaging.”

As illustrated above, functionality is without a doubt the most important attribute of the five (5.8 ranking), while environmental friendliness is without a doubt the least important (4.69 ranking).

Other interesting insights from this report include the following:

* 85% of adult Internet users rank functionality as (to varying degrees) important in their next PC purchase, while only 56% similarly rank environmental friendliness.

* In general, energy efficiency is now of equal importance to price: approximately 72% of consumers rank the both attributes as important in their next PC purchase.

* Where green attributes are important, they are likely not decisive considerations except in cases where the PC’s functionality, brand, and price are equivalent. In other words, when two PCs have pretty much the same functionality, equally reputable brands, and cost about the same, only then will energy- and eco-friendliness figure into most PC purchase decisions.

* Although both concepts may be considered green considerations, consumers tend to look at energy efficiency as only remotely related to environmental friendliness. Though conserving energy may lead to reduced consumption of fossil fuels and thus improve the environment, it is more likely that the cost savings associated with improved energy efficiency is the true motive behind the attribute’s importance.

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