The Myth of the Sustainable Consumer

Companies that understand the different kinds of consumers for sustainable products can market to them more effectively.

- Andreas von der Gathen, Nicolai Broby Eckert, and Caroline Kastbjerg

SUSTAINABILITY HAS BECOME A powerful driver of consumer behavior. People are changing what they consume, how they consume, and how they lead their day-to-day lives, motivated by a concern for sustainability. Our research has identified a consumer-driven megatrend that holds tremendous strategic opportunity for companies if they change how they think of consumer preferences for sustainable options.

The belief that there is only one type of sustainable consumer fails to recognize the diversity of consumer preferences. The stereotypical sustainable consumer who has an intense passion for all things sustainable and a high willingness to pay for sustainable goods and services across all categories accounts for only a small portion of the world's consumers.

Sustainability is now a present and influential factor in how most consumers make their lifestyle and purchasing decisions. But the influence of sustainability on consumers is not uniform, neither in its intensity nor its extent.

To understand these differences and make them actionable, we conducted two core studies on consumers in North America and Europe and segmented them by performing a cluster analysis based on two dimensions (see "The Research," p. 60):

The Consumer Behavior Map

The eight consumer archetypes that were identified based on their commitment to sustainability and their willingness to pay a premium are indicated below. The map also shows the percentage of the general population that each archetype represents.

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