The Greening of the Consumer?

BIGresearch, longtime research partner of NRF, recently talked to consumers about how concerns for the environment and fluctuating gas prices play a role in their shopping habits.

Here are some highlights from that survey.

• Of the more than 8000 adults (18+) surveyed, when asked whether they considered themselves to be not at all environmentally responsible, or very environmentally responsible, most placed themselves somewhere in the middle. Older adults self-identified as very environmentally responsible (13.6%) more frequently than younger adults, of whom only 10.5% considered themselves to be very environmentally responsible.

• Gas prices have changed some habits, but not all. Consolidating shopping trips, shopping closer to home, and doing comparative shopping via circulars were all cited as ways consumers are responding to gas prices. Public transportation? Not so much. Far less than 10% said that they would take public transportation more frequently.

• On average, only about 20% of those surveyed said they have become more environmentally responsible in their daily lives, with the older adults again accounting for slightly higher numbers.

Retailers know their customers and have a deep understanding of who they are, and how they skew relative to age and gender. This study, which breaks down results along age and gender, could add a little more data to the mix, especially as it relates changing consumer attitudes toward shopping.