An Investigation into Consumer Behaviour for Energy Labelled Products

Abstract

In the competitive marketing environment, products serve almost equal utility and functionality, necessitating for the consumers to undergo complex decision making. A varied set of parameters such as price, quality, design and energy efficiency are therefore applied to facilitate comparison between the products. In this context, the present article gauges the importance and influence of energy labels—indicating the energy efficiency of electronic product—in exerting product choice from the perspective of Indian consumers. Using questionnaire based technique, the study attempts to assess the role of energy labels in affecting consumer decision making in the context of four products namely laptop, room heater, refrigerator and CFL. Statistical techniques such as factor analysis, paired sample t-test and ANOVA were chosen for the purpose of testing the proposed research hypotheses. Quality, Knowledge, Certification, Concern and Complexity, the dimensions of customer perception about energy label were found varying across demographic factors. Study reports energy label perceptions differ across low, moderate and highly supportive behaviour exhibited towards energy labelled products. The study draws its implications towards the use of energy label as a matter of policy tool and its effectiveness in Indian context.