Market Survey Sustainable Consumer Behaviour

REcentre conducted a large scale market survey on sustainability and sustainable design within the group of products with a longer lifetime and a visible design aspect like interior products and appliances.

The results and the workshops that are organised to apply strategies to develop and promote your sustainable product or service are published here.

High demand for the right offer

The purchasing behaviour of one thousand consumers in the Meuse-Rhine (Hasselt (BE), Liège (BE) and Maastricht (NL) was examined, hopes and frustrations of consumers were surveyed. The study shows that there is a mass market open to the right sustainable products: including 69% of consumers. The majority is even willing to pay more for the product.

Different purchase motivations

The mass market open for sustainable products consists of two major groups, with different motivations. First, there is a consumer group for which sustainability is the leading driver in the purchase. They have an objective and ethical motivation. They are looking for pure and honest acquisitions combined with the right information by the manufacturer. This group of intrinsically motivated consumers is mainly found in the group of people over 50 (52% of this segment) and households with children. Secondly, there is a large group of consumers who are extrinsically motivated and will only buy a sustainable product when a personal interest is attached to it. For them sustainability is an accelerator when the product is also equal price and quality.

Good, green products

The results of the market study shows that all consumers are open to products that last, so just good products. True sustainability in the eyes of the consumer products that are not easily break down, not out of fashion quickly and easily repairable or modular. Products that meet the above requirements, provided with sufficient information and an environmentally friendly as possible, have a clear line on what to purchase than consumer motivation may be. If these conditions are met, the product will be quickly accepted. And the consumer is also willing to pay more for!

Clear information on sustainability

Good information is necessary: ​​93% of consumers indicates that a label that gives sufficient information about the actual sustainability of the product may convince them to purchase, 47% of the consumers, say that they are even prepared to change product or service by the presence of a label. Companies should make sure that the information is correct. Indeed, regional differences were found in purchasing: surprisingly, the demand for sustainability is the lowest among the Dutch. This may be due to skepticism with the Dutch consumers. Maybe companies in the Netherlands that already launched sustainable products, have not given the right information? In any case, giving the correct information is the right approach for businesses.