The efficacy of green package cues for mainstream versus niche brands: How mainstream green brands can suffer at the shelf

Mainstream brands are increasingly introducing environmentally-friendly lines to compete with successful niche “green” brands, but are there unique challenges for mainstream brands that go green? The authors posit that mainstream brands’ green offerings can suffer when the environmental-friendliness of the product is promoted through visual cues at the point of purchase. Data from a large-scale study of real consumers demonstrate that the evaluation of the efficacy of the mainstream brand and its choice share decrease, in comparison with niche green brands. The authors identify the cause as zero-sum thinking about product’s morality/efficacy trade-off and offer solutions to negate this effect.

Duke Scholars

Author Stacy King MMCi Program