Help Consumers Do More With Their Money: An Open Letter to Retailers

The document urges hard goods retailers to drive the adoption of energy-efficient electronics and appliances to save consumers money and reduce electricity demand. It highlights that many products could be significantly more efficient for minimal additional cost, potentially unlocking $34 billion in annual consumer savings by 2040. The author suggests that retailers should develop procurement specifications based on energy data to influence manufacturers, as this approach can be faster and less political than government standards.

• Consumer electronics and appliances are primary drivers of residential electricity spending in the U.S. In 2011, the average American home spent over $1,300 annually on electricity, with half of that amount attributed to appliances and consumer products. Of that half, more than 60 percent was spent on electronics such as cell phones, computers, and TVs.
• There is a significant opportunity to increase product efficiency at very low cost. For instance, computer electricity use could be cut by one-third using existing technology, and certain small electronics like beard trimmers and cordless drills could see efficiency gains of 40 to 50 percent for costs under $0.70 per unit. Battery charger efficiency could be improved by over 60 percent for a retail price increase of approximately $1.80, resulting in $14 of lifetime electricity savings for the consumer.
• If American families adopted a suite of products that were 30 percent more efficient than current offerings, it could unlock $25 billion in immediate savings, growing to more than $34 billion annually by 2040, assuming electricity prices remain constant.
• The barriers to energy-efficient product adoption are not technical or economic, but stem from poor information flow and a lack of market signals to manufacturers. Retailers can overcome this by partnering with experts to create procurement specifications for suppliers, which the document claims can be more effective and faster than government-mandated standards.

APA

RMI (2013). Help Consumers Do More With Their Money: An Open Letter to Retailers. https://rmi.org/resources/blog_2013_10_15_help_consumers_do_more_with_their_money/

Chicago

RMI. Help Consumers Do More With Their Money: An Open Letter to Retailers. 2013. https://rmi.org/resources/blog_2013_10_15_help_consumers_do_more_with_their_money/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=RMI |title=Help Consumers Do More With Their Money: An Open Letter to Retailers |date=15 October 2013 |url=https://rmi.org/resources/blog_2013_10_15_help_consumers_do_more_with_their_money/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{rmi2013help, author = {{RMI}}, title = {{Help Consumers Do More With Their Money: An Open Letter to Retailers}}, publisher = {RMI}, year = {2013}, month = oct, url = {https://rmi.org/resources/blog_2013_10_15_help_consumers_do_more_with_their_money/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }