Consumers Green in Hearts--But Not So Much in Carts

Shoppers are green in their hearts. But in their shopping carts? That's another story.

A new study by the Grocery Manufacturers Association and Deloitte reports that 95% of consumers are open to considering green products. However, they're buying such items on just 22% of their shopping trips.

This could be because shoppers can't see the forest-friendly goods for the trees. The study found green products are getting lost in the store: 67% of respondents went looking for such items, but less than half (47%) found what they wanted.

In store, the opportunities for marketers center on building awareness; educating shoppers; making green products easier to find and recognize; enhancing in-store communications; and inspiring shoppers at the store shelf to buy, the study recommended.

Contrary to popular marketing myth, green consumers buy more and shop more often than the typical shopper, reported the study. They're concerned about product performance and the credibility of the environmental claims, and cite a lack of educational information from the manufacturer about the product as the biggest roadblock to purchase.

The study also found a significant minority of committed and proactive green shoppers will pay a premium for sustainable products. However, the larger potential population of shoppers who lean toward green want price and performance parity for sustainable products, because green isn't their dominant purchase driver.

“We found that for most shoppers, sustainable considerations are an important tie-breaker when deciding between two otherwise equal products,” says Brian Lynch, GMA director of sales and sales promotion. “But it's not enough to just put green products on the shelf. We have to better educate consumers and leverage in-store communication to make the sale.”

More than 6,400 shopper interviews were conducted for the survey.