Consumers Increasingly Eyeing Green Goods

Forrester Research says 12 percent of U.S. consumers are already oriented towards eco-friendly products..and another 41 percent are ready to get on the bandwagon.

A new report from market analysis firm Forrester Research finds that some 12 percent of U.S. consumers are already “bright green,” putting their money where their mouths are when it comes to ecologically- and environmentally-sensitive buying practices. These consumers are willing to pay a premium for products that are environmentally friendly, that use less energy, or both. More telling, however, is that another 41 percent of U.S. adults Forrester surveyed are also concerned about the environment, even if they aren’t ready to pay a premium for environmentally-friendly products.

Forrester argues that consumer electronics manufacturers ought to be changing their product development and marketing practice to attract this growing population of “green” consumers. “The green leadership position is open: which manufacturer will create the iconic ‘Prius’ product in consumer electronics?” asked Forrester Research senior VP Christopher Mines. “All the green efforts of consumer technology manufacturers so far have been one-size-fits-all: they are not targeted at a particular segment of consumers, but apply across the board to a company’s products, manufacturing, and supply chain.”

The remaining 47 percent of U.S. adults, some 96 million Americans, do not currently share “greens’” concerns about the environment or global warming.

Among major PC brands, Forrester found Apple’s customer base to be the “greenest,” with 17 percent of Apple customers in the “bright green” consumer category. HP’s Compaq brand came in second, ticking in just above the general population with 13 percent of its customers in the “bright green” group.

Forrester’s survey polled 5,000 U.S. adults.