Here comes the 'bright green' consumer: vendors take note

Stuart Corner
Tuesday, 04 December 2007 04:39

IT Industry - Market

According to Forrester Research, 12 percent of US adults, about 25 million people, are willing to pay extra for consumer electronics that use less energy or come from a company that is environmentally, but another 96 million don't care about the environment or global warming. Forrester has dubbed these consumers 'bright greens' are says they the vanguard of an emerging consumer market segment that will be an attractive target for technology companies. "The green leadership position is open: which manufacturer will create the iconic 'Prius' product in consumer electronics?" asks Forrester Research senior vice president Christopher Mines.

The Forrester survey, of 5,000 US adults, identified three distinct segments of US technology consumers: the 'bright greens who are concerned about the environment and strongly agree that they would pay more for consumer electronics products that save energy or come from a company that is environmentally responsible.; another 41 who have concerns about environmental issues, but do not strongly agree that they would pay more for environmentally friendly products; and the remaining 47 percent (about 96 million) who "do not (yet) share the greens' concerns about the environment or global warming."

Among the major PC brands, Apple's customer base is the greenest, with 17 percent of its customers in the bright green consumer category. HP's Compaq brand ranks second, with 13 percent of its customers in the bright green category.

Many of the major consumer electronic manufacturers, including Apple, Dell, HP, Sony, and Toshiba, have taken early steps to green their operations and products. But, Forrester expects all marketers and designers of consumer technology products and services to change product marketing and product design to embrace green principles like energy efficiency, lower-impact manufacturing, longer product life cycles, and recycleability.

"All the green efforts of consumer technology manufacturers so far have been one-size-fits-all: They are not targeted at a particular segment of consumers, but apply across the board to a company's products, manufacturing, and supply chain," said Mines. "We fully expect green technology consumers to further emerge as a target segment for style-conscious electronics manufacturers as the industry moves beyond beige-box design."