Perceptions of retail managers and consumers of green products at select Pick & Pay stores in Durban

Abstract

Green marketing is about marketing products and services based on environmental factors or awareness. Consequently, companies involved in green marketing make decisions relating to the entire process of the production of the company’s products, such as methods of processing, packaging and distribution. Green marketing focuses on the green marketing efforts companies use, including corporate social responsibility plans and sustainability efforts. Most consumers are environmentally conscious, seeking eco-friendly products and services from companies that are socially responsible. Green marketing is aimed at encouraging consumers to buy products which are less harmful to the environment, to help save the planet. This study aimed to investigate this from both a retailer and consumer perspective. Selected Pick & Pay retail managers and their consumers in Durban were asked their views on product quality, price and availability of information (advertising). A mixed method (quantitative and qualitative) strategy was adopted. Participants and respondents were purposefully selected, while their participation in this study was voluntary and confidentiality was maintained. The research included interviews with the five retail managers of the selected stores and a survey of 200 consumers. In the survey, 250 questionnaires were despatched and 200 were returned, which constituted a response rate of 80%. Content validity ensured that the survey focused on concepts and constructs that emerged from the review of literature on the awareness of green products. Cronbach’s alpha index was used to confirm the reliability of the instrument. The findings suggest that the awareness of green products varied among South African consumers. Furthermore, the data obtained from the quantitative instrument indicated that the location of the consumers (rural, urban, and sub-urban) as well as the ethnic group (African, Coloured, Indian, and White) identified by the consumers strongly correlates with their use of green products. In addition, the quantitative results showed that more consumers, particularly white South Africans living in urban or sub-urban areas, will adopt green products irrespective of the price of green products.To further support the quantitative findings, interviews conducted with five retail managers, were recorded and transcribed to ensure credibility. The results were interpreted and analysed against existing literature using thematic content analysis. The interviews conducted revealed that retail managers are of the view that most South African consumers do not understand what green products are. This was largely attributed to a lack of adequate information on green products. The salient feature of this study therefore suggests that the use of indigenous languages will help educate the South African consumers on the benefits associated with the use of green products. Ultimately, adopting green products by South African consumers will add a positive benefit to the environment as well as encouraging future generations to adopt green products. In view of the above, and to ensure proper awareness and marketing of green products, it is highly recommended that government and non-government companies should play an important role in encouraging consumers to go green and embrace green purchasing behaviour. This could be in the form of creating effective marketing campaigns or environmental-related activities, and developing a policy that will issue grants to companies implementing green marketing, which will encourage companies to utilise their resources to provide environment-friendly products.