COLLEGE PARK, — Sales of green technology to American consumers have the potential to reach $104 billion this year, according to a new survey, which also found that desire for greener products is being severely underserved.
The 2007 National Technology Readiness Survey found that 71 percent of adults are interested in green technology but there is a gap between the number of green items consumers own and would like to have.
The survey was sponsored by the Center for Excellence in Service at the University of Maryland's
Robert H. Smith School of Business and technology research firm
Rockbridge Associates. The results were based on the responses of 1.025 U.S. adults polled by phone or internet.
The survey looked at consumers' interest level in 11 product categories and calculated the market value of the products based on average prices. Potential sales of high-mileage, hybrid, biofuel and alternative-fuel vehicles contributed to a little over half of the green sales estimate.
The key to realizing the potential of the green sales market, the survey found, is getting in touch with the 10 percent of adult consumers who said they are the most committed to the environment and are also highly enthusiastic about technology. That is the ideal group to promote products to because they are most likely to provide advice to others and be interested in new green technologies, according to the survey.
