| Introduction to the Sixth Edition Series
In the green industry, 2007 may
be marked as the proverbial “tipping point.” Never
has so much corporate activity, media attention,
and consumer involvement been directed toward
sustaining the planet, improving the lives of
people around the world, and protecting the ability
of future generations to meet their own needs.
It is a confluence of factors that heralded in the
recent market activities. Certainly, An Inconvenient
Truth raised awareness of the severity of climate
change among many consumers. Subsequently, mainstream
media, including Discovery Channel and NBC, have
incorporated green topics into their programming
and further raised awareness among many consumers.
Meanwhile, many companies have
identified very profitable ways of being
good environmental stewards, allowing environmental
issues to move from a “liability” to
an “asset.” GE’s Ecomagination
campaign is just one example of how selling green
products can produce clear, bottom-line results:
GE reports making billions of dollars on Ecomagination
products. A corollary change is that product development
has improved — many green products can compete
not just on their green credentials, but also
on the traditional benefits consumers seek. For
example, some consumers are primarily drawn to
hybrid cars for the gas savings, with lowering
CO2 emissions as a secondary advantage. Similarly,
compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFLs) last longer
and save energy.
The price and availability of LOHAS products has
also shifted. Green products are now widely available
at Home Depot, Wal-Mart, Safeway, Staples, and
other retailers. Moving the products from niche,
sometimes hard-to-find retailers to the mainstream
has made them available to millions of consumers
who previously did not have any viable purchase
options. Simultaneously, the price of many LOHAS
products has declined, making them a more viable
option for many consumers.
These shifts have resulted in products and services
that appeal to general population America, not
just LOHAS consumers. Consequently, there are
significant opportunities for marketers as the
size of the total market pie grows rapidly.
As in previous years, NMI has applied its proprietary
segmentation model to the total U.S. population.
The model NMI developed in 2006, identifying LOHAS,
NATURALITES, DRIFTERS, CONVENTIONALS and UNCONCERNEDS,
will be trended and analyzed throughout this report.
New to this year’s report
are four major insights NMI observes in the
LOHAS marketplace. These trends affect every
industry, and it would behoove readers to
give them pause and consider the applications
to their own business. They are:
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From Purchaser to Participant
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Sustainable Style
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Shades of Green for Everyone
-
Greenwashing Washout
Each of the above trends is explained and referenced
throughout the report.
NMI continues to believe that the LOHAS marketplace
is very opportunistic and will remain so for the
foreseeable future. That said, the time for corporate
action is now. Sustainability concerns are unlikely
to diminish over the coming years, and ignoring
this trend only gives your competition more time
to establish market leadership. Alternatively,
understanding what the trends mean to a business
and brand allows an organization to frame the
conversation with its consumers and/or customers
and capitalize on this exciting market transformation.
It may be necessary to start small, but doing
so is critical for long-term business sustainability.
Report Methodology
These reports are based on research that was fielded
in July 2007 via a primary consumer survey of
2,074 U.S. general population (GP) adults. The
results of this survey are nationally projectable
to the U.S. adult population and statistically
valid at the 95% confidence level +/- 2%. The
data have been post-weighted to match multiple
U.S. Census demographic measures.
The sixth edition series offers the following report
as a general overview of the LOHAS market:
The following report is specific
to Corporate Social Responsibility. It contains
the same information as the general overview
report but includes an expanded Chapter 5:
The following titles are industry specific. They
contain the same information as the general overview
report but include an addendum chapter specific
to the title:
Reports on Green Building, Transportation and Energy
Efficient Appliances are available as special
order reports and take approximately 7-10 business
days to complete. Contact Nancy White at NMI (nancy.white@NMIsolutions.com or 215 513 7300 ext 225) for more details.
The following two sections from the 2006 report
series are available for purchase separately:
For information on NMI’s
European LOHAS report, click here.
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