Which consumers will pay for greener products?
- Survey shows those in UK less willing than neighbours in
Western Europe
Reading, UK – Tuesday, 19 June 2007
For immediate release
According to survey results released by Canalys today, consumers
in other Western European countries are more willing than those in
the UK to pay a premium for electronic goods produced in a more
environmentally conscious way. The online survey was conducted in
April among more than 2,000 employed, adult mobile phone and PC
users in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK.
The independent survey asked a series of questions relating to
consumer attitudes, opinions and behaviour in relation to a number
of technology products and services. One of the key issues facing
the technology industry is how it contributes to reducing the threat
of global warming. Technology can help businesses reduce their
carbon footprints, for example by replacing paper forms with digital
equivalents or reducing employees’ road travel through the use of
mobile devices and GPS systems. But as a global industry
manufacturing and distributing billions of electronic products each
year, its own emissions and the commercial implications of reducing
them must be considered.
“Slightly more than half – 55% – of consumers agreed or strongly
agreed with the statement: ‘I would pay up to a 10% premium for
electronic products that were manufactured in a more environmentally
conscious way.’ You should expect more people to say this than would
actually do it, but 11% strongly agreed with the statement and the
reality is most likely somewhere between the two today,” said
Canalys senior analyst Pete Cunningham. “We will be monitoring this
issue closely in future surveys to see the effect growing awareness
of environmental concerns is having on consumer buying behaviour.”
Widespread media coverage of global warming has helped raise
awareness across all social groups. The Canalys survey shows that
there was very little variation in attitude across gender or income
groups. There was also only slight variation among respondents of
different education levels. Two areas where there were bigger
differences in attitude were across age groups and countries. The
willingness to pay such a premium decreased with the age of
respondent, from 67% of 15–17 year olds down to 49% of those aged 50
or over.
“More than two-thirds of respondents in Spain indicated they
would be willing to pay a premium for greener electronic products,
compared to 55% in Italy, Germany and France. The UK came out badly
in comparison to the other countries,” Cunningham continued. “It was
bottom of the five by some way with only 40% suggesting they were
prepared to pay more. It also had the highest proportion, at 22%,
who disagreed strongly with the idea.”
Reinforcing these results, in Italy, 66% of respondents said they
already only bought kitchen appliances with the best energy
efficiency ratings. In France it was 61%, and over 50% in both
Germany and Spain. In the UK the proportion was just 41%. In areas
where the behaviour does not require the consumer to make or change
a purchase decision, such as turning off the TV at night or turning
lights off when leaving a room, the UK is far more in line with the
other countries. In fact, across all countries, energy-saving
measures that did not involve a purchase decision were more commonly
undertaken than those that did.
“Technology vendors exploring green initiatives in relation to
the products they are building and marketing must be aware of these
differences in attitude,” Cunningham said in closing. “Current
survey results suggest that they will see greater acceptance of
those initiatives among younger buyers and that the response will
vary by country. Overall there is good awareness of the need to
conserve energy, and willingness on the part of consumers to do
their bit. At the point of purchase they will often be influenced by
other factors, but vendors that can boast genuine green credentials
should expect to see a positive response from many customers.”
About the Consumer Mobility Analysis service
The research results discussed in this release come from the new
Canalys Consumer Mobility Analysis EMEA service, which provides
clients with analysis of results from a continuous programme of
large-scale consumer surveys. Each quarter, different mobility
topics and country markets within EMEA are covered by the survey to
provide monitoring of trends and reaction to new initiatives,
products and services. In addition to analysis of the survey
results, clients receive regular reports, supporting databases and
direct access to Canalys analysts.
More information...
Analyst photos
Photographs of the analyst(s) quoted in this
release are available in the biography
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article.
About Canalys
Canalys specialises in delivering high quality market data,
analysis and advice to the world’s leading technology vendors. It is
recognised as a key provider of continuous advisory services and
confidential custom projects for marketing managers and strategists
within blue-chip IT, telecoms, navigation and consumer electronics
companies. It has unrivalled expertise in European routes to market
for all kinds of high technology products and services in the
consumer, SMB and large enterprise segments, and provides worldwide
market data and trends analysis.
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