According to a shopper experience study currently underway by The Integer Group and M/A/R/C Research, titled "The Checkout," nearly one in four shoppers are willing to pay more for something if it makes them feel like they are contributing to saving the environment.
Shoppers ages 18 to 34 are slower to embrace making purchasing changes to benefit the environment than those shoppers ages 35 to 44 and 55 to 64. While college-aged consumers are expected to quickly embrace eco-concerns, the data shows they aren't necessarily willing to pay money to do so.
Results of the study show that all consumers are willing to make easy changes such as switching out light bulbs or getting paperless statements, but when it comes to doing something that requires more time, money and effort, such as only purchasing locally grown organic food or carpooling, the number of willing participants drops.
"Buying local means purchasing new products in new ways, requiring more effort behind routine shopping trips. To change behavior, the incentive must be compelling with tangible benefits," said Craig Elston, senior vice president, The Integer Group.
Randy Wahl, executive vice president, M/A/R/C Research said marketers must focus on the emotional need instead of only the functional benefits if they want to see change.
Data for the study came from a national survey conducted by Integer and M/A/R/C where consumers were asked about their shopping attitudes, shopping behaviors and economic outlook.
Topics range from criteria shoppers use to select retailers, to which in-store stimulus is most likely to drive purchase, to factors that might lead shoppers to leave an aisle empty-handed.
