August 11th, 2023, Kineree Shah
In the face of escalating inflation, consumers globally are reassessing their spending habits, and environmentally friendly products that often come with a heftier price tag could be among the casualties. Nearly half of the consumers surveyed indicated they are likely to cut back on eco-friendly consumer electronics products, such as LED lights and solar water heaters, under financial strain – highest across all categories listed (48%).
This reveals a potential challenge in the wider adoption of such products suggesting that despite an increasing emphasis on sustainability, environmental considerations may be secondary when economic circumstances become challenging.
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On average, consumers in Asia show heightened price sensitivity in this regard. India leads the pack, with nearly two-thirds (65%) of consumers indicating they would cut back on environmentally friendly electronics. Indonesia follows closely behind (61%) along with China (53%) and Singapore (52%).
In Hong Kong, the situation is more mixed, with three in ten consumers being undecided, indicating a segment that could potentially be nudged through compelling marketing and brand narratives.
In France, Italy, and Spain, over half of consumers indicated a likelihood to cut back purchases of sustainable electronics. However, in Britain, Denmark, and Sweden, less than four in ten consumers shared this sentiment (36-38%), with the Germany demonstrating the lowest likelihood among European nations (35%).
Turning to North America, the data presents a slightly different scenario. In Mexico, over half (56%) of consumers stated a likelihood to cut back on eco-friendly electronics if household budget is constrained. However, in Canada and the United States, the figures are notably lower (46% and 34%, respectively) stating the same. Interestingly, nearly one in five American consumers stated they never purchase environmentally friendly products at all, the highest among all markets surveyed (18%).
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Methodology: YouGov Surveys: Serviced provide quick survey results from nationally representative or targeted audiences in multiple markets. The data is based on surveys of adults aged 18+ years in 18 markets with sample sizes varying between 511 and 1999 for each market. All surveys were conducted online in May 2023. Data from each market uses a nationally representative sample apart from Mexico and India, which use urban representative samples, and Indonesia and Hong Kong, which use online representative samples. Learn more about YouGov Surveys: Serviced.