$44 Billion Is Switching Hands Annually. Here Is the Industry Breakdown.

In November 2023, Glow, in collaboration with 3BL, TriplePundit, and panel partner Cint, surveyed 3,000 US adults in a nationally representative sample across 12 industries to answer a specific question: what is the dollar value of consumer brand switching driven by sustainability considerations?

The answer is $44 billion annually.

This is the first time the value of sustainable purchasing has been captured as a dollar figure across industry categories. The methodology combines Industry Sales value, Perception Spread, Revenue Growth per Perception Point, Switching Factor, and an Industry Influence Index derived from the survey.

The industry breakdown:

Industry	Annual Value at Stake
Food and Grocery	$9.38 billion
General Insurance	$8.42 billion
Pension Funds	$6.17 billion
Grocery Retailers	$3.9 billion
Energy Providers	$3.6 billion
Banks	$2.6 billion
Car and Automotive	$2.6 billion
Telecommunications	$2.5 billion
Fashion Retailers and Brands	$1.87 billion
Quick Service Restaurants	$1 billion
Liquor Products	$1 billion
Airlines	$0.52 billion

Food and grocery’s $9.38 billion position at the top reflects category transaction frequency: the opportunity to switch (or be switched from) is higher when purchase occasions are weekly rather than annual. But pension funds at $6.17 billion is the data point that challenges conventional assumptions about where sustainability-driven consumer behaviour sits. More on that in the next post.

The $44 billion figure is US-only, covering 12 industries from a survey window of November 2023. It is not a ceiling. It is a current measurement of a quantity that the data shows is growing: 58% of consumers say sustainability considerations are more influential on their purchases now than they were a year ago.