CONSUMER PREFERENCES FOR
GREEN RESTAURANT PRACTICES
WHO ARE WE
• Environment Agriculture Food (EAF) Group at the
University of Chicago
• Consumer Research Team
• Green Restaurant Research Team
• Program on Global Environment at University of
Chicago
Summary of Others Findings
The most important claims to impact willingness to pay are:
1. Local and Organic
2. Fair Trade
3. Carbon Reduction
• Onozaka,Yuko Et. Al., “Defining Sustainable Food Market Segments: Do Motivations and Values Vary by
Shopping Locale,” American Journal of Agricultural Economics, January 2011
Summary of Others Findings
• Opportunities to drive demand are:
• Recycling
• Use of double door
• Local sourced menu options
• Ray Wang, “Investigations of Important and Effective Effects of Green Practices in Restaurants,” Procedia :
Social and Behavioral Sciences 40 94-98, 2012.
Summary of Others Findings
• About 85% of Americans are willing to pay something for green
practices (Our survey confirms this for Chicagoans)
• Schubert, Kandampully, Solnet, Kralj “Exploring Consumer Perceptions of Green Restaurants in the US,”
School of Tourism, University of Queensland, 2010
OUR SURVEY
• Survey of 321 patrons from Chicago Area via Surveymonkey
• General dining characteristics
• Consumer environmental concerns
• Willingness to pay for green practices
• General demographics
KEY QUESTIONS
In the past MONTH, how many times have you purchased
food from any of the following types of restaurants?
Restaurant Purchases Monthly
Restaurant Type
Fast Food
Fast Casual
Pizza
Casual Sit Down
Fine Sit Down
Mean
5.07
2.21
2.56
1.83
2.69
SD
3.99
1.87
1.46
1.25
1.31
WTP
Corr
0.095
0.157
-0.035
-0.030
-0.018
KEY QUESTIONS
Amount Paid
On AVERAGE, how much do you
spend when you eat out?
Meal
Breakfast
Amount
$7.97
Lunch
$10.93
Dinner
$21.28
KEY QUESTIONS
Restaurant Characteristics
Characteristic
Score
On a scale of 1-10,
when choosing to visit
a restaurant for
DINNER, how
important are the
following
characteristics about
the restaurant?
Menu
Value for Money
Convenient Location
Informed Staff
Ambiance
Local Food Choices
Energy/Water Conservation
Recycling/Composting
Organic Food Choices
8.4
8.2
7.5
7.0
6.8
5.7
3.8
3.8
3.6
KEY QUESTIONS
From most to least common:
What characteristics do
you expect green
restaurants to exhibit?
Tasty
Modern
Vegetarian Friendly
Independent
New
Artisanal
Expensive
KEY QUESTIONS
From Most to Least Common
How do you usually find
out that a restaurant is
engaged in
environmentally friendly
practices?
While Dining
Restaurant Website
Publicity
Friends/Family
Social Media
Another Website
Community Outreach
CONSUMER SEGMENTATION
• Who are you serving?
• We divided patrons into three “clusters”- different groupings
based on data analysis
• We segmented these clusters even more to determine their
preferences with regards to certain environmental factors
CLUSTER DESCRIPTIONS
• 1: Not Engaged—not engaged with environmental issues; the
food factor is ambiguous
• 2: Highly Engaged—people who are highly engaged in the
environment and food issues
• 3: Eco-Conscious—people who are engaged in the environment
but not food
DEMOGRAPHICS
Clusters
Not Engaged
Count
Average
Income
Average
Age
Percent
Female
78
$85,576
47
27
173
$97,398
49
42
EcoConscious
45
$64,444
41
58
Full Sample
296
$89,272
47
40
Highly
Engaged
AVERAGE SPENDING EATING OUT
Clusters
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Not Engaged
$8.42
$10.85
$20.85
Highly Engaged
$7.86
$10.99
$21.76
Eco-Conscious
$7.65
$10.80
$20.05
Average
$7.94
$10.93
$21.28
CONSUMER TRUST SURVEY QUESTIONS
• On a scale of 1-10, how does the fact that a food item is
USDA Certified Organic affect your decision to buy the
item?
• On a scale of 1-10, how much do you trust claims from
restaurants about environmentally friendly practices?
CONSUMER TRUST
Clusters
USDA
Certification
Trusting
Restaurants
Not Engaged
3.58
4.17
Highly Engaged
5.47
5.07
Eco-Conscious
5.00
5.36
Average
4.90
4.87
CONJOINT INTRODUCTION
Conjoint analysis for entrees between $15 - $19
Tested willingness to pay for:
• 80% of ingredients organic, 50% or no organic.
• Locally sourced ingredients v.s Not local
CONJOINT DATA RESULTS
Price Premiums
Feature
50% Organic
80% Organic
Local
All
Male
Female
Not
Engaged
$1.58
2.52
5.24
$1.31
1.94
4.47
$2.14
3.77
7.16
$0
0
3.31
Highly
Engaged
EcoConscious
$2.07
3.93
7.43
$2.79
4.47
3.54
CONJOINT INCOME
Price Premiums
Feature
50% Organic
80% Organic
Local
0–
25,000
25,000 –
50,000
50,000 –
75,000
75,000 –
100,000
100,000 or
more
$1.31
1.94
2.72
$1.13
2.19
1.95
$1.87
2.03
4.46
$1.72
3.44
10.56
$1.87
3.21
7.73
CONJOINT AGE
Price Premiums
Feature
18 -29
30 – 44
45 - 60
>60
50% Organic
$2.20
$2.00
$1.30
$1.40
80% Organic
4.19
4.51
1.44
1.75
Local
2.51
7.63
4.64
7.32
CHICAGO VS USA
• While Chicago ranks 8 for frequency for carry out
lunch, it is not in the top 20 for dine in lunch
• Chicagoans tend to describe themselves as
“Foodies” more often then other Americans
• In terms of WTP for green practices Chicagoans are
not different with the exception of highly educated
consumers have higher WTP in Chicago then
elsewhere
Source: “Dinning Out,” Living Social, Washington, September 15, 2011.
GENERAL CONCLUSIONS
• Chicagoans are willing to pay a premium!
• Communicate: website draws consumers, during dining repeat
•
•
•
•
business
Consumers are more likely to believe green claims when they
are specific and what they can relate to
Eco-conscious consumers care more about green practices
than foodies, but foodies care too
Affluent women age 30-44: highest demand for green practices
Consumers care most about local food and recycling
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
• Green Chicago Restaurant Coalition
• Green Seal
• Public Policy Department at the University of Chicago
• Pam Cohen
• Nancy Himmelfarb
• Sabina Shaikh