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Willing to Pay More For Green?
Green Technology Featured Articles
April 20, 2009

Willing to Pay More For Green?

By Jessica Kostek
TMCnet Channel Editor

Stretching the almighty dollar these days has become an art of many during these difficult economic times. From hybrid cars to solar powered homes, saving money is everything to consumers. However, going the “green” route usually means paying more upfront and reaping the benefits later.

 
But is everyone jumping the green bandwagon, even if it means paying more? According to a telephone survey of 1,002 adults in March commissioned by Sharp (News - Alert) Electronics and conducted by market researcher GfK Roper, it seems that they are. The survey found Americans are three times more likely to pay more up front for a product that saves on money in the long run versus a product that is less expensive at the time of purchase.
 
However, if money did grow on trees, about 72 percent of respondents said they are much more inclined to choose energy-saving products if cost was not an issue.
 
Bob Scaglione, a senior vice president at Sharp, said. “We had our own feelings that consumers generally were not willing to pay extra when they are standing in front of the product ready to buy. That is why we haven’t charged more.”
 
Of course Scaglione points out the obvious of the survey of consumers saying they will pay extra and actually paying extra in the store are two different things. And the survey, Sharp said, did not ask them to spell out how much more they would consider paying.
 
The survey said that 82 percent of respondents said that green features were a factor in their decisions to buy, while 35 percent of people said they definitely look for green features. The survey also found that energy-saving features rated second among four concerns when buying products. Price was the number one issue and design and brand were the bottom two concerns.
 
According to the Wall Street Journal, The California Energy Commission (News - Alert) is considering mandating specific energy standards for TVs sold in California, in an effort to make TVs more efficient and save both the state and consumers money. Meanwhile, Sharp and several other vendors have been launching more energy efficient TV sets in recent years, even branding them “eco” TVs.
 
Sharp this year added a power-saving button to the remote controls of its new line of TVs that lowers the light used by the TV to display the picture, saving energy. Sharp doesn’t plan to charge more for energy-saving features in its TVs, Scaglione says, but it will stress the features in its marketing.
 
To learn more about green technology, be sure to check out TMCnet’s Green Technology site or Green Blog.

Jessica Kostek is a channel editor for TMCnet, covering VoIP, CRM, call center and wireless technologies. To read more of Jessica’s articles, please visit her columnist page.

Edited by Jessica Kostek


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