Consumers Keen On Shopping Sustainability
April 20, 2022
A
Consumer Sustainability Survey revealed retail consumer preferences
related to sustainable shopping habits. The survey found that more than
three-quarters (86%) of consumers are willing to delay e-commerce
deliveries for the sake of improving sustainability if given an
incentive to do so. Of those respondents, 29% are willing to delay
deliveries up to five days and 28% are willing to delay a week or more.
The data also showed the COVID-19 pandemic had a noticeable impact on
consumer sustainability habits. Nearly half (44%) of consumers said
their interest in shopping sustainably increased since the start of the
pandemic.
“During the pandemic, many businesses had to temporarily trade-off
sustainability for the sake of public health and safety. Essential
stores such as grocery eliminated reusable bag use and nearly all
brick-and-mortar shops strengthened or in some cases added new online
commerce operations with delivery options. This shifted more sales
online that previously would have occurred in-store,” said Edward Wong,
senior vice president, Global Retail Sector Leader at Blue Yonder. “As
retail emerges from pandemic-era practices, sustainability is back in
focus. The findings of this study reflect the paradigm shift toward a
more environmentally friendly supply chain as consumers are now willing
to do their part to embrace more sustainable shopping habits.”
Consumers Willing to Do Their Part
Retail e-commerce sales are expected to grow by 50% over the next
four years. To help limit the environmental impact of their online
shopping, the survey found that consumers are willing to do their part
by recycling, spending more on sustainable packaging or even setting
minimum spending requirements on deliveries:
81% of consumers recycle boxes/bags from in-store and online shopping
at least half the time and more than half (53%) recycle the packaging
75-100% of the time
64% are willing to spend more on sustainable packaging, with 44% willing
to spend up to 5% more
40% agree there should be a minimum amount a consumer must spend to
qualify for expedited shipping or shipping in general
Social Media Influences Shopping Frequency at Sustainable Retailers
The
survey also revealed that social media has influenced over half (52%) of
consumers’ sustainable shopping frequency. Nearly half (45%) said they
were slightly-to-moderately influenced and 7% said they were
moderately-to-significantly influenced.
For those influenced by social media, Facebook and Instagram had the
biggest influence with 31% and 28%, respectively. Facebook is the most
popular platform for ages 45 and older and Instagram for ages 18-44.
Surprisingly, TikTok (16%) and Snapchat (5%) were not as large of an
influence with consumers overall. However, these platforms had a larger
appeal for respondents ages 18-29, with TikTok at 28%.
“Businesses are in a unique position to start making smarter decisions
that consider not only profit, but the environment and humankind. With
the use of powerful new technologies, these factors are no longer
mutually exclusive,” continued Wong. “Forecasting demand using
artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) is one of the
most effective ways to do this. These advanced tools can detect obscure
business patterns from hundreds of variables, including the weather,
price elasticity, and events, to predict sales at the most granular
levels. This allows businesses to operate responsibly (and profitably)
via reduced waste, more efficient production, smarter transportation
strategies, and reduced resource consumption.”
