Five shades of green consumers

According to the NMI, the vast majority of today’s consumers – a whopping 83% of the U.S. population – can be classified as some shade of green, signifying their involvement in green values, activities, and purchasing. The balance, an estimated 17%, however unconcerned they may be about the planet, can be viewed as inadvertent greens if only because they must abide by local laws requiring green behavior – and the consuming that goes with it, such as recycling. Led by the LOHAS (Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability) segment (the deep greens), the NMI’s segmentation of U.S. adult consumers into five distinct and mutually exclusive groups makes targeted marketing of mainstream consumers possible (see Fig. 2.1).

Figure 2.1 NMI’s 2009 green consumer segmentation model %U.S. adults

Source: © Natural Marketing Institute (NMI), 2009 LOHAS Consumer Trends Database®
All Rights Reserved

Figure 2.2 Demographic composition of five NMI consumer segments

Capital letters indicate significant difference between groups at 95%. Percentages rounded.

Source: © Natural Marketing Institute (NMI), 2009 LOHAS Consumer Trends Database®
All Rights Reserved

LOHAS

As their name suggests, the LOHAS (Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability) segment represents the most environmentally conscious, holistically oriented, and active of all consumers. Representing 19% of all U.S. adults or 43 million people in 2009, they see a universal connection between health and global preservation and use products that support both personal and planetary well-being. The segment that historically has held the most cachet for sustainable marketers, the typical LOHAS consumer, as depicted in Figure 2.2, tends to be a married, educated, middle-aged female. With the second highest income of all five segments, these consumers tend to be less sensitive to price than the other segments, and particularly so for greener products.

Active at home and in their communities, they readily pluck environmentally sustainable products off the shelf, support advocacy programs for a variety of eco and social causes, and are conscious stewards of the environment. They lead the pack in such behaviors as energy and water conservation, toting cloth shopping bags, and lobbying elected officials to pass environmentally protective laws (see Fig. 2.3). A great consumer for any marketer to snag, they are early adopters of greener technologies. Nearly twice as likely to associate their own personal values with companies and their brands, they are more loyal to companies that mirror their values than their counterparts in other segments. Influential in their communities, they recommend greener brands to friends and family.

Representing a change in the rules for their own purchasing, LOHAS consumers energetically seek out information to ensure the products they purchase synchronize with their discerning environmental and social standards. They scrutinize food and beverage labels, opt for foods with minimal processing, and consume more organically grown produce than any other segment. They also study up on corporate sustainability policies; an astonishing 71% will boycott a brand or company that has practices they do not like, almost twice as high as that of their cousins in other segments. Distrustful of paid media, they will consult the Internet and social among other sources of information. According to the NMI, 14% of the LOHAS segment reports that they purchase hard-to-find greener products online.

Naturalites

About one in six U.S. adults, or 34 million consumers, falls into the Naturalites segment. Assuming a very personal approach to the environment, Naturalites aim to achieve a healthy lifestyle and believe in mind-body-spirit philosophies in addition to the power of prayer. Motivated by buzzwords such as “antibacterial,” “free of synthetic chemicals,” and “natural,” Naturalites are concerned about the harmful effects of chemicals in such products as paint, cosmetics, and food. They are quick to select what they perceive to be safer alternatives for themselves and their children. They are also more likely than any of the other segments (aside from LOHAS) to find it important for their stores to carry organic food, with 19% purchasing natural cleaning products in the past year.

Naturalites see themselves as committed to sustainability, but in reality, they are not as dedicated to green purchasing or behaviors including even recycling as their LOHAS or even Drifter cousins. Nevertheless, Naturalites do want to learn more and become more active in environmental protection and are receptive to education in this regard, especially when there is a personal connection to their health. Demographically, Naturalites are the least likely to be college-educated, and have the lowest incomes. Half of Naturalites live in the South (where recycling is not as prevalent as in other areas) and are much more likely to be African-American.

Drifters

Driven by trends more than by deeply held beliefs, Drifters are the second largest segment of the population, representing 25% of all U.S. adults or 57 million consumers. Younger and concentrated in coastal cities, unlike their LOHAS counterparts they have not yet integrated their values and ethics with their lifestyles. With green considered to be “in,” catch Drifters making the scene at a Whole Foods lunch bar with a trendy cloth sack in hand, or driving a hybrid not to save money on gas, but for how they will look driving about town. They will boycott companies with questionable environmental reputations, but yield to information culled from the media rather than through their own research. Eager to pitch in on simple green activities they understand – they are avid recyclers and energy conservers – they are less apt than their LOHAS counterparts to engage in more nuanced eco-behaviors such as taking steps to reduce carbon emissions.

Demographically, Drifters tend to have larger household sizes with a third having children under the age of 18. Because Drifters are somewhat conscious of the effects that their actions have on the environment, and earn a moderate income, they represent an attractive segment for green marketers. According to NMI, nearly one-fifth think it’s too difficult to consider the environmental impacts of their actions and nearly one-half of Drifters wish they did more to advance sustainability. Marketers who are able to communicate the camaraderie and a sense of belonging that a green lifestyle brings to Drifters will enjoy exceptional returns.

Figure 2.3 Consumer behavior by NMI segment

% of each segment that regularly (daily/weekly/monthly) does the following:

Source: © Natural Marketing Institute (NMI), 2009 LOHAS Consumer Trends Database®
All Rights Reserved

Conventionals

Picture a practical dad directing his kids to pull on a sweater instead of turning up the heat and constantly badgering them to turn off the lights and you get a feel for the Conventionals, the second largest segment representing 53 million consumers who are driven to green for practical reasons. For instance, if LOHAS consumers spend the green for the sake of green, Conventionals will spend more for an ENERGY STAR-labeled fridge knowing it will slash their utility bills.

Characterized by good old Yankee ingenuity or midwestern values, Conventionals are adept at recycling, and they reuse and repurpose things in an effort to reduce waste and pinch pennies. They are aware of environmental issues but are not as motivated to purchase organic foods or other health-related products as their LOHAS cousins for health or environmental reasons. Likely to be males in their mid-to-late forties with the highest incomes of all the segments, 25% of Conventionals are retired, more than other segments, and a sensible group: 45% of them always pay the entire balance on their credit cards every month.

Unconcerneds

In contrast to their LOHAS, Drifter, and Conventional counterparts, 17% of the population representing 39 million consumers, called the Unconcerneds, demonstrate the least environmental responsibility of all the segments. Just over one-quarter will boycott brands made by manufacturers they do not approve of, versus upwards of 40% for their counterparts in other segments; and while 61% say they care about protecting the environment, only 24% recycle. Demographically, the Unconcerneds skew towards younger males living in the South with slightly below-average incomes and lower education levels.