Advertising, marketing and purchase behavior for energy-related products

Conference · Wed Jul 01 04:00:00 EDT 1998

OSTI ID:20006361

Tiedemann, K; Nelson, D

Energy conservation programs have relied heavily on incentives and regulatory standards to reduce residential energy consumption. However, in the changing market environment characterized by competitive pressures, alternative mechanisms such as marketing and promotions may increase substantially in importance compared to the demand-side management programs which have been the focus of most research. This paper describes the role of marketing and promotions in encouraging energy efficiency at the household level in British Columbia. The paper examines three related issues: first, the purchase process for energy-related products; second, the criteria used by customers in making purchase decisions; and third, the impact and effectiveness of alternative marketing tools. A key finding is the energy-related purchases do not fall into the impulse purchase category. There are two reasons for this: first, most of these products require installation and this requires a high level of commitment on the part of the purchaser; second, many energy-related products require a significant outlay of funds and this reduces impulse buying.

• OSTI ID: 20006361
• Report Number(s): CONF-980815--
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
BEHAVIOR
BRITISH COLUMBIA
ENERGY CONSERVATION
ENERGY EFFICIENCY
HUMAN FACTORS
INFORMATION DISSEMINATION
MARKETING
RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS