Green Consumers Have Different Purchasing Motives

November 19, 2008

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A recent Yahoo! Green study found that while 77 percent of consumers describe themselves as “green” – actively living their lives conscious of their health and environment – these green consumers have different purchasing motives.

There are four main groups of green consumers:

Deeply Committed (23 percent of market), who are mostly female adults in their mid-30s, more educated, live in metropolitan areas and respond most to the “positively impact the environment” message.

Trendy (24 percent of market), who are ethnically diverse consumers aged between 18 to 34. They respond to message about “everybody else is doing it” and newest technology.

Practical (13 percent of market), who are generally over 45 years-old consumers with children and live in rural areas.

Passive (17 percent of market), who are generally younger women aged between 25 to 34 with children. They respond to messages about providing a better life for their family.

The remaining 23 percent of the market says they don’t care about the environment, or they say they care, but don’t take any action.

The study found that the “deeply committed” and “trendy” consumers present the biggest opportunity for advertisers. Eighty percent of the “deeply committed” and 69 percent of the “trendy” consumers say they have made a green purchase in the past six months. Around 70 percent of the “deeply committed” and “trendy” say they have recently convinced a family or friend to buy the same green alternative product as them.

This study surveyed 1,500 people between the ages of 18-54 from around America.

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