Why energy-efficient behaviors are delayed? Exploring the moderating role of procrastination in green ticks experiment probing household refrigerator upgrading

Abstract

Information and behavioral biases will affect consumers' intertemporal decisions on investment in energy-efficient products. This study aims to discover the moderating effect of irrational procrastination, as a key behavioral bias, on consumers' delayed decision on upgrades to energy-efficient appliances and to explore possible interventions to address the delays caused by procrastination. In this regard, a field survey was carried out among 153 households in Singapore using a structured questionnaire about their awareness of green ticks, procrastinatory behaviors, intention of delaying refrigerator upgrade, as well as the demographic variables. The results show that green ticks alone have negligible influence on upgrades to energy-efficient appliances. With green ticks taken into consideration, consumers less procrastinating are more likely to avoid such delays in refrigerator upgrade, which can be seen in the lower hyperbolic discount rate. Furthermore, the strategy of presenting information about the costs of delayed purchase will mitigate the behavioral deviation born of procrastination. Quantitative findings of the study have several policy implications regarding intervention measures to push consumers to purchase energy-efficient home appliances earlier, such as adding the costs of delayed purchase to energy labels, emphasizing the huge impact of procrastination on energy saving, and popularizing energy-efficient appliances in high-income groups.