Effect of Gender on Eco -Brand Purchase Intention: A Case Study in Mapalana, GS Division.

Abstract

Green marketing activities are increasing in many countries, and these activities have had an important influence on increasing consumer knowledge and in shifting consumer into purchasing green products. Market segmentation is a common phenomenon all over the world, where products are pro'iuced based on different target consumer groups. Gender is considered as a major market segment in consumer purchase behaviour. Therefore, it is vital to produce gender specific eco­brands to capture the market with the aim of achieving profits. Lack of research investigations especially in the Asian context in this regard induces this research to explore the effects of gender on consumer purchase intention of eco-brands. The pre­tested questionnaire survey was conducted in Mapalana GS division, Matara, Sri Lanka with valid sample of 145. The collected data were analysed by using descriptive and inferential statistics. Based on Independent samples t test, results indicated that gender significantly shapes the purchase intention of the eco-brands. Male's intention to purchase eco-brands is greater than the females'. Therefore, present study recommends producing male specific eco-brands to yield higher profits for companies. This is a great significance of the environmentalists, researchers, policy makers, marketers and academics, who are concerning the environment. Based on the results, present study recommends that the green marketers should implement their green marketing tools based on the gender of the consumer.