Christmas, Covid & Conscious Consumerism
Tags: Covid 19, Brand Strategy, Christmas Gifts, Consciousness, Brands

With Christmas around the corner, and given the action-packed year’s events, there’s no better time to talk about conscious consumerism, especially in relation to commercial holidays. It is more important than ever for brands to acknowledge and act in response to consumers’ ever-growing insistence on brand sustainability and fairness to suppliers and employees. So before you push the button to activate your 50% Christmas sale in hopes of depleting your excess stock, below are key factors that should influence your business decisions moving forward.

What is conscious consumerism?

Conscious consumerism has occurred when consumers’ commitment to positive social, economic, and environmental impact drives their purchases. The term was first coined in the 1970s by two professors at The University of Texas in Austin. However, the first signs of the movement were identified in the 1950s by economist James Buchanan who called individual participation in the economy a “form of pure democracy” (or “dollar voting”).

Present-day and beyond

Consumer interest in sustainability has been growing for years. According to insights company Nielsen, by 2021, we expect sustainably-focused consumers in the U.S. to spend $150 billion on sustainable products. Governance and Accountability Institute reported that before 2013, only 20% of S&P 500 companies chose to disclose their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) information. However, following conscious consumer trends, in 2019, 90% of S&P 500 companies published sustainability/responsibility reports. According to Research World’s study, one in five consumers have ‘buycotted‘ a brand because it was not sustainable at least once (27% of Gen Z).

Consumer behavior

According to InSite Consulting, Trust will be one of the main KPIs in the new sustainable era. Only 41% of consumers trust brands that make sustainability claims, and 7 out of 10 ask for more transparent and reliable information. Half of the consumers in IC’s research believe that sustainable brands are more up-to-date, and 41% think they offer better quality.

Impact on business

According to Unilever, their purpose-led brands grew 69% faster than the rest of the company.

In a global study led by InSites Consulting that occurred before COVID-19, 8 out of 10 consumers found sustainability “important” to “very important”:

“The key issues that companies and brands should address are recycling, reducing packaging (especially single-use plastic), reducing CO2 emissions, preserving and restoring biospheres, and abstaining from using artificial and chemical ingredients in production. The youngest segment of the sample — Generation Z — places more emphasis on fair wages, gender and race equality, and LGBT+ rights. Sustainability as we knew it before COVID-19 — maximizing profits while doing less harm to the planet and people — will have to be replaced by “climate-plus” or “net-positive” thinking.” — Joeri Van den Bergh, InSites Consulting

Given the past decade’s consumer trends catalyzed by this year’s events, responding to conscious consumer behaviors and incorporating them into a business strategy is no longer a nice-to-have option but a vital play to consider if businesses value longevity.

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