Beginning in September 2001, EPA undertook research to evaluate the effectiveness of marketing and communications for the ENERGY STAR® Consumer Campaign and Product Labeling Program. This Retail Store Level (RSL) Assessment addresses four goals:

• Assess retailer knowledge of the ENERGY STAR program and the extent to which salespeople use the ENERGY STAR message in the retail sales process
• Inventory the presence of ENERGY STAR display material
• Inventory the availability of ENERGY STAR products
• Assess the accuracy of ENERGY STAR product labeling

To date, ten rounds of the assessment have been completed, and the data collection for the eleventh round is underway. In each round, national retailers are visited in approximately eight metropolitan areas across the nation. The product mix varies in each round and has included: CFLs, Lighting Fixtures, Appliances, Home Electronics, Home Sealing, and Programmable Thermostats.

Program Implementation

APT has been involved in the Retail Store Level Assessment from its inception through the most recent round of data collection. For the RSL project, APT designs all data collection instruments, plans, and completes the data collection for each round, analyzes the data, and generates all written reports for the EPA.

To meet the goals of the research, APT has designed and implemented three distinct data collection activities:

• Sales staff evaluation utilizing mystery shopping experiences to assess retailer knowledge of the ENERGY STAR program and its use in the retail sales process
• Display material inventory. Addresses the availability of ENERGY STAR point-of-purchase material.
• Product shelf inventory addresses the availability of ENERGY STAR and also the accuracy of ENERGY STAR product labeling

Summary of Results

The results of the RSL Assessment highlight the strengths and weaknesses of the ENERGY STAR program in the retail channel as experienced by consumers. Over time, the results of the research have allowed focused, effective changes in the ENERGY STAR program.

The continued value of the RSL Assessment has lead to the expansion of the research in a number of areas:

• June 2002:   Lighting Showrooms were added to the retailer panel.
• October 2004: ENERGY STAR Home Sealing products were added to the product mix.
• October 2005: NYSERDA funded the addition of two metro areas (Buffalo and New York City).

Throughout 2006 and 2007, the results of the RSL Assessment provided the EPA much needed, on the ground information about the accuracy of ENERGY STAR product labeling to respond to an investigation by the Inspector General’s Office. APT has modified the approach to the RSL Assessment to gather explicit evidence of the mis-labeling of non-qualified product.