We ‘as customers’, increasingly crave for products made in a sustainable way. More and more customers appear to switch brands based on sustainable production practices.
A 2022 study by First Insight and the Baker Retailing Center at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania found that two-thirds of consumers would pay more for sustainable products and “nearly three-quarters of the consumer respondents value “product sustainability” over “brand name.” The consumers’ preference towards sustainably made products are not only on brand new products but even products in the resale market. “..a combined 54% say that they shop at “resale” because they care for the environment and prefer sustainable or circular shopping.”
A 2019 study in US led by Hotwire found that 47% of internet users worldwide said they had “switched to a different product or service because a company violated their personal values. Protecting the environment topped the list of reasons consumers switched, and 5% cited concerns about climate change.” (www.insiderintelligence.com)
SmartestEnergy, a UK based “next generation energy company” that deals with decentralized energy systems, conducted a study and found that “buyer loyalty is no longer just about confidence in product or service quality- it’s about trust in a company’s approach to the environment.” The study reveals that 80% people describing themselves as likely to choose a brand with a positive approach to environmental sustainability. 90% of people agree that it is vital that society becomes more energy-conscious.
The 2021 joint global study (conducted in 19 countries) by Microsoft Advertising and dentsu international “The Rise of Sustainable Media” found that 91% of respondents saying they wanted brands to demonstrate they are making positive choices about the planet and environment more explicitly; “in everything they do.” 77% said that in five years’ time, they only want to be spending money with brands who are practicing green and sustainable advertising.
Prior to the COP26 (United Nations Climate Change Conference held in 2021) a study showed “sustainability” becoming increasingly important in consumers’ purchasing decisions across the world. The Global Sustainability Study 2021 (by Simon-Kucher & Partners), conducted just before COP26, found that globally, 85% of people saying that they have “shifted their purchase behavior towards being more sustainable in the past five years… Globally, sustainability is rated as an important purchase criterion for 60% of consumers. Additionally, one third of Millennials will choose a sustainable alternative when available..” The report further warns: “One third of consumers are willing to pay a premium for sustainable products, and companies should prepare for sustainability to become the expectation and not the exception in the future..”
As we review the above surveys-that too, coming from across the globe- we see a clear consumer trend, supporting products to be made sustainably. How well does this translate to customers’ switching to brands that follow sustainability?
