Segmenting and Profiling South African Households’ Electricity Conservation Behavior

In the last decade, South Africa has frequently experienced electricity shortages. Conserving electricity is a sustainable means by which households can contribute to mitigating the problem. The main electricity supplier, Eskom, partners with the South African government to promote electricity conservation, particularly in households. For effective tailoring of promotional messages, market segmentation is needed. This study uses cluster analysis to segment and identify segment sizes and types of electricity conservation behaviors in South African households. It also profiles the segments according to sociodemographic characteristics and some economic and psychological drivers of conservation behaviors. We surveyed 629 electricity consumers in the Gauteng province of South Africa. Four segments were identified: devoted conservers (18%), unconcerned nonconservers (28.7%), curtailment-oriented conservers (29.3%), and efficiency-oriented consumers (24%). The article proposes germane strategies to be tailored by social marketers and policy makers to reach each of these segments.