Green Purchase Intention Scale
Also known as: GPIS, Eco-Friendly Purchase Intention
The Green Purchase Intention Scale (GPIS) measures consumers' stated willingness and likelihood of purchasing environmentally friendly products, including their intention to pay premium prices for eco-labeled goods and their perceived value of sustainable alternatives. Developed from consumer behavior and willingness-to-pay frameworks (Dodds, Monroe, & Grewal, 1991; expanded by Thøgersen and others), the GPIS bridges environmental attitudes and actual purchasing behavior, a critical gap in sustainability research. The scale is widely used in marketing research, environmental policy evaluation, and studies examining whether environmental concern translates into purchasing decisions.
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When to use it
Use the GPIS when assessing market viability of green product launches, evaluating effectiveness of environmental labeling or sustainability communication campaigns on purchasing decisions, predicting consumer segments most likely to adopt green products for product positioning and targeting, tracking shifts in green purchase intent following environmental events or media campaigns, and examining price elasticity—how much green purchase likelihood declines as price premiums increase. Also valuable for understanding why stated environmental concern does not predict actual green purchasing, and identifying barriers (perceived greenwashing, availability, habit, affordability) that prevent high-intention consumers from acting.
Strengths & limitations
- Directly measures consumer willingness to purchase—more predictive of actual behavior than abstract environmental attitudes or values
- Captures the price-intention relationship; enables estimation of price elasticity and identification of price points where demand for green products drops precipitously
- Discriminates among consumers at behavioral decision-making level; high-GPIS consumers are target market for green product adoption while low-GPIS segments require value-added differentiation beyond environmental claims
- Reliably correlates with actual green purchasing behavior (r = 0.45–0.65) better than attitude scales, though still subject to significant intention-behavior gap
- Applicable across product categories and cultures; GPIS variants exist for food, clothing, household products, vehicles, and energy, enabling comparison of green purchasing intent across domains
- Subject to significant intention-behavior gap; high GPIS scores do not guarantee actual purchase—price, habit, product availability at point of sale, and moment-of-decision competing cues often override prior intention
- Vulnerable to social desirability bias; respondents express higher intention to purchase green products than they subsequently demonstrate, particularly when responses are not anonymous or context suggests environmental values are being assessed
- Does not distinguish between genuine environmental motivation vs. status or trendiness motivation for purchasing green products; high GPIS may reflect desire to appear environmentally conscious rather than intrinsic environmental concern
- Product category and market context heavily influence results; GPIS for organic food shows stronger intention-behavior alignment than GPIS for electric vehicles (due to cost barriers, infrastructure, and infrequent purchase cycle)
- Greenwashing skepticism underestimated; many consumers distrust green claims, reducing GPIS scores below true environmental commitment, yet items may not directly assess trust in environmental claims
Frequently asked
Why do surveys show 70% of consumers 'want' to buy green but actual green market share is only 10–15%?
This is the classic intention-behavior gap. Surveys in favorable contexts (environmental focus) elicit higher stated intentions; actual purchasing is driven by habit, price, convenience, and competing cues at point of sale. At checkout, environmental intentions compete with budget constraints, time pressure, and familiar brands. Use GPIS alongside conjoint analysis and behavioral experiments to estimate true market demand below survey responses.
How much price premium will consumers accept for green products?
This varies by product and consumer. Research shows: 10–20% premium accepted by ~40% of consumers for food; 5–15% for household products; 20–50% for energy/vehicles among committed consumers. Use GPIS with explicit price variation (ask about willingness to pay specific premiums: +5%, +15%, +30%) to estimate price elasticity rather than assuming uniform WTP.
Does high GPIS mean the consumer will definitely purchase green products?
No. GPIS predicts purchasing behavior at 45–65% accuracy—meaningful but far from perfect. High-GPIS consumers still purchase conventional products 30–50% of the time due to point-of-sale dynamics, limited availability, better price on conventional alternatives, or habit. Use GPIS as one signal among price sensitivity, brand loyalty, and behavioral history.
How does GPIS differ from environmental concern (ECS) or values (NEP)?
ECS measures emotional worry about environment; NEP measures ecocentric beliefs; GPIS measures concrete purchasing intention. Someone can have high values (high NEP) and concern (high ECS) but low green purchase intention due to budget, skepticism about product efficacy, or lack of local availability. Measure all three to understand the pathway from values→intention→behavior and identify where intervention is needed.
Sources
- Dodds, W. B., Monroe, K. B., & Grewal, D. (1991). Effects of price, brand, and store information on buyers' product evaluations. Journal of Marketing Research, 28(3), 307–319. DOI: 10.1177/002224379102800305 ↗
- Kim, Y., & Choi, S. M. (2005). Antecedents of green purchase intention: An examination of collectivism, environmental concern, and PCE. Advances in Consumer Research, 32, 592–599. link ↗
- Thøgersen, J., & Crompton, T. (2009). Simple and painless? The limitations of spillover in environmental campaigning. Journal of Consumer Policy, 32(2), 141–163. DOI: 10.1007/s10603-009-9101-1 ↗
How to cite this page
ScholarGate. (2026, June 3). Green Purchase Intention Scale. ScholarGate. https://scholargate.app/en/environmental-psychology/green-purchase-intention-scale
Which method?
Set this method beside its closest kin and read them side by side — the library lays the books on the table; the choice is yours.
- EISEnvironmental Psychology↔ compare
- PEBSEnvironmental Psychology↔ compare
- SCSEnvironmental Psychology↔ compare