Consumers’ Eco-Friendly Choices in the South African White Goods Industry: An Abstract

Abstract

As an emerging economy, South Africa (SA) is characterized by a growing economy and increased consumption levels that have harmful environmental consequences. Currently, SA produces among the highest greenhouse gas emissions per unit of gross domestic product (GDP) in the world (OECD 2013), and its energy needs surpass that of several developing countries. This has in part stemmed from the government’s continued service delivery and public housing schemes that transferred an estimated 11 million people from informal settlements into approximately 3 million homes that were built between 1994 and 2010. Efforts are ongoing, which offers substantial growth potential in the SA white goods industry (PwC & Economist Intelligence Unit 2012). Yet, as many households converge into an aspiring middle-class segment and acquire appliances for the first time, efforts are needed to endorse energy efficiency and environmental sensitivity in consumers’ choice of product. Based on the aforementioned arguments, this study was focused on determining consumers’ prioritization of eco-friendly attributes in their evaluation and selection of appliances in the SA white goods market. A structured questionnaire comprising various sections was developed and pretested for this study. Sawtooth conjoint software was used to create trade-off tasks whereby respondents could jointly compare several product attributes in order to select the best possible option. Washing machines served as an appropriate product for these tasks, because they require more resources for production but include state-of-the-art technology to ensure optimum eco-efficiency (Euromonitor International 2013). Apart from energy, these appliances require the use of water and chemicals that have severe implications for SA’s critically strained water resources. The choice set for the trade-off tasks (i.e., attributes and attribute levels) was guided by an extensive review of catalogues, brochures and websites of appliance manufacturers/ retailers. A non-probability sampling approach based on judgement and convenience was used to recruit 648 consumers who were in the process of shopping for appliances in prominent retail outlets within the geographical scope of Tshwane. The aggregate conjoint results indicate that consumers across various age, income and educational levels prioritize brand and price, notwithstanding the lasting financial and environmental repercussions of eco-friendly features. Respondents’ prioritization of attributes formed the basis of four clusters that were labelled as brand buyers (n = 114), price punters (n = 178), energy investors (n = 104) and the indecisive shoppers (n = 252). Brand buyers prioritized brand (39 %) and price (21 %), whereas price punters regarded price as notably more important (40 %) than any other attributes. The energy investors prioritized energy ratings (25 %), although they regarded price almost equally important (22 %), which suggests the importance of cost implications in their decision making. These findings indicate that marketers cannot exclusively rely on consumers’ willingness to compromise on non-environmental product attributes for the sake of the environment. Indecisive shoppers were less confident in their prioritization of product attributes as none of the attributes seemed particularly important (<20 % importance rating). Campaigns that are focused on increasing environmental awareness and the benefits of pro-environmental alternatives may benefit this cluster in particular.