Buyer Characteristics of the Green Consumer and Their Implications for Advertising Strategy

TLDR

The study builds a psychographic profile of green consumers based on purchase‑related variables such as price consciousness, shopping care, product interest, and brand loyalty. The authors analyzed data from 3,264 respondents in the DDB Needham Life Style Study to examine green consumers’ attitudes toward advertising and media preferences. Green consumers are opinion leaders and careful shoppers who seek product information, yet they remain skeptical of advertising; thus, they may respond to green marketing but should not be exposed to ambiguous or misleading messages.

Abstract

Abstract The authors construct a psychographic profile of the green consumer in terms of variables directly related to purchase behavior, such as price consciousness and general care in shopping, interest in new products, and brand loyalty. Additionally, they address attitudes toward advertising and media preferences. Data from 3264 respondents to the DDB Needham Life Style Study were analyzed. The results show the green consumer to be an opinion leader and a careful shopper who seeks information on products, including information from advertising, but also suggest that the green consumer is rather skeptical of advertising. The implications are that green consumers may be receptive to green marketing and advertising, but marketers should take care not to alienate them by using ambiguous or misleading messages.