Greater Appeal of Native Plants for Environmentally Conscious Consumers

Rihn, Alicia; Behe, Bridget K.; Barton, Susan; Torres, Ariana P.

doi:10.24266/2573-5586-41.1.7

Cited by 3 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…The native enthusiast cluster, which had the greatest market potential, expressed the greatest agreement with the environmental benefits of native plants, including pollinator attracting, habitat restoring, and wildlife benefitting. These results align with previous work that identified alignment between native plant importance and proenvironmental gardening practices (Rihn et al 2023). Additionally, consumer research of plant purchasers indicated a willingness to pay more for and preference for plants grown in an environmentally conscious manner (Khachatryan et al 2014;Knuth et al 2020) while concerns about the environment grow (Tyson and Kennedy 2020).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

“…In turn, consumers' positive perceptions of the beauty of native plants positively impact their intent to purchase native plants (Gillis and Swim 2020). Regarding proenvironmental behavior, several studies have established a positive correlation between environmental knowledge and purchase likelihood for native plants (Narem et al 2018), environmental gardening practices and native plant purchases (Rihn et al 2023), and positive perceptions of native plants (Shaw et al 2017). To help improve consumers' knowledge of local native plants and their environmental benefits (butterfly and moth caterpillar host plants), an online native plant finder that uses consumer zip codes to identify native plant species was developed (National Wildlife Federation 2024).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Unwrapping the Native Plant Black Box: Consumer Perceptions and Segments for Target Marketing Strategies

Rihn,

Torres,

Behe

et al. 2024

hortte

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The increasing demand for sustainable products has helped spur demand for native plants. This study used an online survey of 2066 US consumers, a factor analysis, and Ward’s linkage cluster analysis to identify unique customer segments in the native plant marketplace. The following three clusters were identified: native averse (31.6%), native curious (35.7%), and native enthusiast (32.7%). The native enthusiast cluster agreed strongly with positive statements related to native plant perceptions and attributes. The native averse cluster exhibited the lowest level of agreement with these items and the greatest level of agreement with negative or neutral statements about native plants. The native curious cluster was intermediate between the other clusters but generally agreed with positive attributes. Demographic characteristics impacted cluster membership. The marketing implications are discussed.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Unwrapping the Native Plant Black Box: Consumer Perceptions and Segments for Target Marketing Strategies

Rihn,

Torres,

Behe

et al. 2024

hortte

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Most of the current work on consumer IPM topics focuses either on specific landscape topics that relate to IPM, such as pollinators, or on the actual retail purchase looking at the attributes of plant products (e.g., Getter et al 2016;Khachatryan et al 2020;Klingeman et al 2009;Rihn et al , 2022Rihn et al , 2023Sellmer et al 2003;Stewart et al 2002;Warner et al 2022;Wei et al 2019Wei et al , 2020Yiridoe et al 2005). However, considering that a successful IPM approach includes several components, it is critical to evaluate how consumer preferences change for each of the components (e.g., mechanical/physical controls, cultural controls, biological controls, and chemical controls) (Ehler 2006).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Consumer Purchase Likelihood of Landscape Management Pest Scouting Program

Jeffers,

Behe,

Vassalos

et al. 2023

hortte

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The US landscape industry consists of 632,000 businesses with >1 million persons employed in 2022. The most common service that landscape service providers (LSPs) perform is pest management. Over the past 25 years, LSPs have been challenged to adopt more holistic approaches to pest management via the use of nonchemical and less toxic chemical controls. Integrated pest management (IPM), specifically scouting, may be a useful approach for LSPs to manage pests more sustainably and market new services, such as biological control releases. Scant literature is available on LSP scouting practices or consumer acceptance of scouting services. The goal of this study was to determine if IPM-aware consumers were more likely to purchase a scouting program offered by an LSP. An online survey was distributed across the United States through a third-party panel service. The final sample included 928 usable responses. Data were analyzed using a binary logistic regression model. Fifty-seven percent of respondents reported having some knowledge or were very knowledgeable of IPM. Respondents 65 years of age and older were 13.1% points less likely to purchase a scouting service. Education level did not influence purchase likelihood. Consumer knowledge of IPM had a positive influence on the purchase likelihood, respondents with “some knowledge” (5.6%) and “very knowledgeable” (8.6%) were more likely to buy IPM services. Further, if the consumer was open to purchasing the scouting program, it is plausible that they might be more willing to allow an LSP to use a combination of chemical and nonchemical methods to manage pests.

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Into the Wild – U.S. Consumer Preferences for Residential Landscape Wildlife

Rihn,

Barton,

Torres

et al. 2024

Journal of Environmental Horticulture

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A key benefit of botanically diverse landscapes is their ability to attract and support wildlife. Nature relatedness, a term that describes the affective, cognitive, and experiential aspect of human-nature relations, promotes positive well-being and happiness. Wildlife is a broad term which can include insects, reptiles, birds, and mammals. Because markets are typically heterogeneous, consumers are likely to respond differently to landscapes that are wildlife-friendly. The present study used an online survey to explore U.S. consumer preferences for 10 different types of wildlife in landscapes. Participants wanted landscapes that attracted songbirds, butterflies, pollinators, and bees. In general, participants were neutral about attracting gamebirds, deer, and chipmunks. However, they wanted to deter insects, bats, and snakes. Greater native plant knowledge and higher nature relatedness ratings improved the probability of participants wanting to attract all 10 types of wildlife. Demographics impacted preferences with older participants wanting to attract songbirds, butterflies, bees, and pollinators but deter all other types of wildlife. On average, women wanted to attract butterflies but deter game birds, deer, chipmunks, insects, bats, and snakes. Rural residents were more interested in attracting all types of wildlife. People with children wanted to attract gamebirds, deer, and chipmunks to their landscapes.

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Greater Appeal of Native Plants for Environmentally Conscious Consumers

Cited by 3 publications

References 26 publications

Unwrapping the Native Plant Black Box: Consumer Perceptions and Segments for Target Marketing Strategies

Unwrapping the Native Plant Black Box: Consumer Perceptions and Segments for Target Marketing Strategies

Consumer Purchase Likelihood of Landscape Management Pest Scouting Program

Into the Wild – U.S. Consumer Preferences for Residential Landscape Wildlife

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