Global Consumers Willing to Pay More for Green Products Decline

According to a Capgemini Research Institute survey, there's been a downward trend in the percentage of global consumers willing to pay more for sustainable products over the past five years.

This trend occurred across categories of sustainable products costing 5% to <10% more, 10% to <15% more, 15% to <20% more, and ≥20% more.

Conversely, an upward trend was only observed in sustainable products costing 1% to <5% more.

Below are the percentages of all consumers who paid more for sustainable products in 2020, 2023, and 2024:

• 1% to <5% More Expensive
  March 2020: 20%
  October–November 2023: 30%
  October–November 2024: 38%
• 5% to <10% More Expensive
  March 2020: 45%
  October–November 2023: 40%
  October–November 2024: 39%
• 10% to <15% More Expensive
  March 2020: 24%
  October–November 2023: 20%
  October–November 2024: 15%
• 15% to <20% More Expensive
  March 2020: 7%
  October–November 2023: 7%
  October–November 2024: 6%
• ≥20% More Expensive
  March 2020: 3%
  October–November 2023: 3%
  October–November 2024: 2%

The Capgemini Research Institute indicates that these findings show a shift from 30% to 38% in 2024 in the proportion of consumers who paid 1–5% more for sustainable products.

Baby boomers (45%) led among all age groups in the category of consumers paying 1–5% more.

Meanwhile, the proportion of consumers willing to pay more than 20% decreased from 3% to 2% in 2024, with Gen Z leading (3.5%) this group.

For information, the March 2020 data involved 4,779 consumers, October–November 2023 involved 4,307 consumers, and October–November 2024 involved 4,549 consumers who had paid more for sustainable products.

In the October–November 2024 survey, the Capgemini Research Institute conducted it in 12 countries across North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific, with respondents aged 18 and over.