But, 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.
Researchers conclude 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."
At first it seemed 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.
But then 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?
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?
