Conscious consumption habits climb despite rising cost of living - report

Consumers are still dedicated to shopping sustainably despite the rising cost of living and soaring energy prices leaving them with less disposable income, a new report from Sensoramic Solutions has suggested.

The firm, which is an arm of Irish machinery firm Johnson Controls, has revealed in its latest report that at least one-third of shoppers in the EU think more responsibly when shopping, with Spanish shoppers taking the top spot for the most sustainable.

The research, which quizzed over 5,000 shoppers, provides an optimistic outlook coming out of the pandemic in that the crisis and misery it brought may have had some positive effects.

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40% of Spanish respondents claim to have greener attitudes when compared to the start of the pandemic, with 37% of UK respondents also giving similar answers. The firm also claims that before the pandemic, at least 10% of shoppers in Europe already considered sustainability when purchasing products.

So-called "conscious consumption" or "responsible retail" habits, where customers are more likely to take environmental or social impacts from products into consideration before buying, appear to have been on the rise since the onset of the pandemic in late 2019.

This, in turn, has spurred companies to commit more seriously to climate and responsibility targets in a bid to win over potential customers. Some in the corporate sphere also believe shareholders are more willing to invest in companies that invest in greener technologies.

Becoming more aware of the environmental impact of shopping can come in various forms, from minimising plastic waste to buying a hybrid or electric vehicle, to buying meat and dairy alternatives or organic food. A particularly big area of interest is the use of sustainable or recyclable packaging.

This is becoming apparent with big-name companies such as Tesla being billed as alternatives to their fossil-fuelled counterparts and climbing to become one of the world's most valuable companies.

Other industry giants that have pledged to go green include Lego with its bricks made from recycled plastic; Coca-Cola, which pledged to trial a plant-based bottle; and Unilever, which has several schemes, including plastics recycling, paying a living wage or paper detergent bottles, among others.

Back in May 2021, Industry Europe spoke with Kim De Maeseneer from analytics firm Accenture, exploring this topic in more detail.

Read more: The pandemic has increased "conscious consumption" habits

Both currency debasement and inflation have helped drive the cost of living up in recent decades. In addition, energy prices have also been climbing since last winter owing to several factors, which have also spurred the European Union to bring forward its climate plans.

Simply put, green energy is more sustainable. Not just because it lessens environmental impacts of generation, but also because the way it is generated means that supply chains are less volatile.

Sensoramic's data suggests that at least 32% of respondents have cut back on spending due to price sensitivity. Despite this, green customs are still driving consumer interest, it claims.

Three-quarters (76%) of European consumers say they are willing to pay at least 5% more for products that are sustainable, rising to 81% for Italian and Spanish shoppers. 39% said they would shop more with a retailer that offered green products, and almost half (48%) would buy more frequently from those retailers who opted to make packaging more sustainable.

In addition, 41% said that locally-produced goods - which drive down transport emissions - would win over their loyalty.

“These insights back up a belief we’ve held for a long time: prioritising sustainable solutions is simply good business", said Nick Pompa, Sensormatic Solutions' general manager for Europe and the Middle East.

“But now, that same sentiment is mirrored among consumers. Shoppers want to see brands make investments that support responsible retail at all levels, so much so that they don’t see engaging in sustainable operations as an option, but rather an obligation, for businesses", he added.

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The report also collated data on particular areas shoppers would like to see addressed with sustainability goals. 60% of respondents would like to see more waste reduction, with a further 40% claiming reducing the use of plastic should be a priority, while 45% said they would like to see brands more actively recycling.

Consumers naturally had differing definitions of "sustainable practices", ranging from more energy efficiency to alternative packaging - it remains up to retailers to decide how to implement these to work with their business models.

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