70% of Consumers Worry About the Environment, While 52% Have Changed What They Buy

American consumers are prepared to reward manufacturers, retailers, and others offering products that benefit the environment as long as any additional costs associated with providing those benefits are not transferred to them in the form of higher prices.

Earth Day 2019, an A.T. Kearney study of 1,000 US consumers’ sentiments on environmental benefit claims found that more than 70% of consumers consider their impact on the environment when shopping. But, even as topics like climate change continue to make headlines, only 52% have shifted their purchase decisions—although this is improving, with 66% intending to shift within the year. Why haven’t they changed? The answer is they want the businesses that serve them to change first.

While nearly 80% of respondents would consider delayed shipping if the environmental benefit was clearly articulated, they are unlikely to settle for higher costs in exchange for environmental benefits.

“What we see in these findings is that the consumer market may be more receptive to buying green products than they were in years past,” said Greg Portell, an A.T. Kearney partner involved in the study. “But, they don’t want to sacrifice quality or pay higher prices to benefit the environment.”

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