Identifying the Consumer Buying Behaviour Towards Green Household Appliances in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Around the world, demand for energy has been increased with the development. In Sri Lankan context, it is evident that from the total electricity consumption, the households consume 34% of significant amount. To uplift the balance between development and its effect to the environment, most of the developed countries adopt better technologies and practices. Therefore, as a solution for this problem, energy efficient appliances and eco-labels were introduced. However, in a developing country like Sri Lanka these technologies and practices are not much popular. This study was conducted mainly addressing two Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)s namely; Goal 7: Affordable and Clean Energy and Goal 12: Responsible Production and Consumption. The objective of this study is to identify the buying behavior of Sri Lankan consumers when purchasing green household appliances and to identify opportunities to promote greener practices in the Sri Lankan market. The study was conducted covering Western Province focusing on the consumers’ behavioral factors as well as the existing market condition for Eco-friendly appliances. The results show that the consumers’ first preference is price at the purchasing point, highest discouraging factor is high price, family member is the most influential source of information and lowering tax and price is the best strategy for promoting eco-friendly appliances in the Sri Lankan market.