Visual Data-Driven Profiling of Green Consumers

Abstract

There is an increasing interest in green consumer behavior. These consumers are ecologically conscious and interested in buying environmentally friendly products. Earlier efforts at identifying these consumers have relied upon questionnaires based on demographic and psychographic data. Most of the studies have concluded that it is not possible to identify a unanimous profile for a green consumer, because: (1) there might be several profiles for green consumers, and (2) in questionnaires, consumers tend to answer according to their intentions, not according to actual behavior. We apply a new method, the Weighted Self-Organizing Map (WSOM) for visual customer segmentation in order to profile green consumers. The consumers are identified through a data-driven analysis based on actual transaction data, including both demographic and behavioral information. The WSOM accounts for the 'degree' of how green a consumer is by giving a larger weight to consumers who buy more green products. The identified profiles are verified by comparison to earlier research.