How Green Are Your Consumers?

A recent study by Yahoo! has found that 77% of consumers describe themselves as green. This study segmented these green consumers into four main groups:

•  Deeply Committed (23%)
•  Trendy (24%)
•  Practical (13%)
•  Passive (17%)

Of these segments, the two that present the biggest opportunity for advertisers are the Trendy consumers, those who go green to be cool, and the Deeply Committed. The Deeply Committed category skewed female, and represented mostly adults (35+), more educated, with a higher percent living in metropolitan areas.

These Deeply Committed green consumers respond most to messages that "positively impact the environment". Further reinforcing this stat is a survey from ICOM entitled The Greenest Generation which found that both male and female groups 55 years and over reported above average usage of environmentally friendly home goods. Leading the way was the 55-59 year-old female demographic, who was more than twice as likely than the average consumer to use green products.

Selling green products to the Deeply Committed is akin to preaching to the choir. And the women within this group are open to environmentally responsible messages.

The study also reports that Online is an important source for green information based on the respondents it is almost on par with traditional media. However a large percent of people still look to TV ads for more info on green products, especially in the household cleaning product category.