ABSTRACT
Increasing awareness of the diverse environmental issues has been a shift among the way consumers move their life. Customers have become more interested in the value of the natural environment and recognize that their actions in producing and consuming food can have a direct impact on the environment. In the present study, the investigator tries to examine the customer attitude towards green products with reference to electric vehicles among a sample of 100 customers who used electric vehicles and approached them with a structured questionnaire. The collected responses were analyzed using mathematical tools like frequency and percentage analysis. The results show that the level of awareness toward green products is high. Majority of the respondents are affected by promotion campaigns that are highly influential and the least influential factor is the product price.
INTRODUCTION
Global climate change, waste generation, pollution, and natural disasters have considerably modified the world environment, thus impacting all living organisms, along with the social and economic status of people. The zoom of worldwide economies is to be criticized for the escalating trend of consumerism worldwide which in turn has caused overutilization of natural resources, hence leading to severe environmental degradation. The environment has become a really vital and crucial issue for all people whether a customer or a manufacturer. Increasing awareness of the diverse environmental issues has conducted a shift in the way consumers move their life. There has been a change in consumer attitudes towards a green manner. People are actively attempting to cut back their impact on the environment. Organizations and businesses still have seen this modification in consumer attitudes and look into realizing an edge within the competitive market by exploiting the potential. Since traditional marketing emphasizes customers’ needs excessively and doesn't take into account welfare and environmental problems it has affected marketing and has led to the looks of the concept of green marketing. Many organizations are making an attempt to carry out sustainable business operations, recognizing that they can make their products more attractive to consumers, as well as lower costs in packaging, transportation, energy and water use, and more. Green marketing is the marketing of goods and services which are environmentally friendly. It may include a variety of different issues, such as designing an environmentally friendly product, using green packaging, implementing sustainable business practices, or concentrating marketing efforts on messages conveying the green benefits of a product. It is becoming more popular as more people take an interest in environmental issues and want to invest their money in a way that saves the world. Customers have become more interested in the value of the natural environment and recognize that their actions in producing and consuming food can have a direct impact on the environment. Today, consumers are more conscious of environmental issues. The aim of this study is to examine to measure customer attitude toward green products with reference to electric vehicles.
GREEN PRODUCTS: OVERVIEW
Green products are conventional alternatives that have less impact on the environment. Green goods could be made in a more energy-conservative fashion, usually formed or partially formed from recycled materials, or supplied to the market with less packaging. Environmentally friendly is a term of marketing and sustainability that applies to products and services, rules, laws, and regulations that appear to have minimized damage to the environment. The word- eco-friendly is used to describe practices that are environmentally friendly. There is a range of ways in which practices can be eco-friendly, ranging from goods created in an environmentally friendly manner to lifestyle changes intended to benefit the environment. They are made from organic and biodegradable materials and are designed to use the least non-renewable resources and toxic chemicals to produce energy. This minimizes the generation of greenhouse gases like CFCs, Ozone, etc., and hence prevents pollution. Examples of green products and services include
• Cleaning materials that do not affect the environment
• Wood harvested from green forests
• Power-efficient light bulbs
• Electric Vehicles
• Electricity from renewable energy sources such as windmills and solar power.
NEED AND SIGNIFICANCE
In today’s extremely competitive environment, companies are searching for initiatives that could give them a competitive advantage over their rivals. Going green is a big competitive advantage in the market right now. These initiatives cover a variety of activities and green marketing plays a crucial role in them. In developing countries, the idea of green products is that their governments emphasize strict laws and regulations related to sustainability. However, the idea is at an incredibly immature stage within developing countries such as India. This research is undertaken to change the customer attitude that leads them to move for a healthy and pollution-free environment. The electric vehicle is becoming popular every day. All forms of electric vehicles can help improve fuel economy, lower fuel costs, and reduce emissions. This study mainly focuses on consumers’ attitudes towards electric vehicles, having regard to their levels of environmental concern. The present study examines the customer toward green products and thus a step toward sustainability.
OBJECTIVES Of the study
To measure consumer attitudes toward green products.
To assess the Customer awareness & Satisfaction with Green products.
METHODOLOGY
The study consists of both primary and secondary data. 100 customers who used electric vehicles and approached them with a structured questionnaire. Secondary data have been collected from authorized sources such as Google scholars, research journals and websites, etc. The area selected to conduct the study is the Ernakulam district. The technique used for sampling in this research is convenience sampling. The collected data were analyzed using mathematical tools like frequency and percentage analysis
Table No.1 Level of awareness of customers towards Green Product
Source: primary data
Fig No.1 Level of awareness of customers towards Green Product
From the above analysis it was found that the majority of respondents 83 % are aware of green products. Only 17% of respondents are not aware of green products due to illiteracy.
Table No.2 Level of Satisfaction regarding Green Product
Source: primary data
Fig No.2 Level of Satisfaction regarding Green Product
From the above table we can see that 45% of users are of the opinion that they are satisfied with the green products. 23% of them have a neutral opinion. 22% of users are of the opinion that they are very satisfied with green products. Only 10% of them are disappointed with this shopping. So it is clear that more than half of the respondents are satisfied with green products
Table No.3 Factors affecting the purchase of green product
Fig No.3 Factors affecting the purchase of green product
The table indicates that 81% of respondents are influenced by promotional campaigns, 68% of respondents are influenced by past experience, 58% of respondents are influenced by environmental issues, 51% of respondents are influenced by awareness about the green product, 49% of respondents are influenced by the availability of the green product, and 48% of respondents are influenced by product price. This indicates that the high influencing factor is promotional campaigns and the least influencing factor is the product price.
Table No.4 Reason for purchasing the Green Products
Source: primary data
Fig No.4 Reason for purchasing the Green Products
It is evident from the graph above that respondents primarily opted for green products. Their reason is due to the obligation for environmental conservation (47%). Another factor that causes them to choose green products is because of enhancing their standard of life (30%). Only 9% of the respondents prefer green products because of a potential increase in product value. The figure indicates that all of the reasons given other than the social responsibility of the consumer are less accountable for opting for green products by the consumer.
FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION
The level of awareness towards green products is high
81% of the respondents are affected by promotion campaigns that are highly influential and the least influential factor is the product price.
Majority of the respondents are satisfied with the green products
47% of respondents are ready to choose green products as they feel responsible for protecting the environment, 30% of respondents prefer green products as a result of improving quality of life
Based on the results obtained from the study the following suggestions are made which will be helpful to improve the customer attitudes towards green products. It is advisable that Govt. should reduce the tax imposed on green products by way of offering various tax advantages such as tax rebates, tax breaks, tax credits, and Govt. subsidies, etc. in order to reduce the price of green products. Reduction of production waste and transportation energy can help green marketers to control the price. Conduct an awareness program regarding the environmental benefits of green products, various symbols/accreditations which identify the green product, and various brands offering green products in Kudumbashree. It is conducted to inform the women that they should take special care to prevent the excess usage of modern products. Various activities like Go Green Campaign and posters emphasize special care for green products. Provide incentives to companies who initiate market research to identify the different varieties of green products.
REFERENCES
Agyeman, C. M. (2014). Consumers’ buying behavior towards green products: An exploratory study. International journal of management research and business strategy, 3(1), 188-197.
Grant, J. (2008). Green marketing. Strategic direction.
Shrivastava, M. A., Prakasht, S., & Prakash, G. A Study of Customer Behaviour towards Green Marketing with Reference to Cosmetics Products at Eastern Indore City. Arthavati: An International Journal, 82.
Yang, Y. C. (2017). Consumer behavior towards green products. Journal of Economics, Business and Management, 5(4), 160-167
