Awareness of climate change is now predominant in the purchasing decisions of consumers around the world. The 62% of them, in fact, are not willing to compromise in terms of sustainability, even during this period of economic uncertainty. This was stated by Shopify, which in this regard conducted an online survey together with Sapio Research.
From the research came the “Conscious Commerce” report, which reveals how consumers and businesses are continuing to engage in sustainable practices, incentivizing solutions such as zero-carbon shipping and paying attention to climate-friendly practices, despite the crisis dictated by an increase in the cost of living and the reduction of the spending budget.
82% of merchants surveyed globally also stated that, in their opinion, there is a strong correlation between sustainability and the improvement of business performance itselfor how sustainable practices are now essential for business success.
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Stacy Kauk, Head of Sustainability di Shopifydeclares: “This report demonstrates that climate awareness is driving consumers’ purchasing decisions, even in challenging economic circumstances. It is therefore in everyone’s best interest to implement sustainable practices, such as adopting a ‘low or no waste’ approach ” for manufacturing and delivering carbon neutral shipping. We look forward to more companies joining us in developing innovative carbon removal technologies, which is part of our goal to turn the tide of change climate”.
Consumers do not give up on sustainability despite the high cost of living
Globally, many consumers put the practices green in first place and 54% do already sustainable purchaseschoosing, for example, retailers that offer zero-emission shipping.
The report highlights how consumers around the world are actively changing their purchasing habits, making choices that have a positive impact on the planet such as eliminate unnecessary purchases (35%), choose products with recyclable or environmentally friendly packaging (24%) e shop locally (24%).
It’s a steadily increasing trend, though 38% of consumers said they were cautious about spending (45% in Italy) due to the increase in the cost of living.
Europe is also in first place in the world in terms of conscious purchases: looking at all’Italiait emerged as 64% of Italian consumers shop sustainably and plan to continue doing sowhile the 37% of respondents are willing to spend even more to buy from a sustainable brand – especially Millennials (46%) and Gen Z (38%).
And it is in fact the younger generations who are leading the revolution of conscious shopping, driven by the urgency towards climate change: the 59% of Gen Z and 61% of Millennials globally are already shopping sustainablywhile 31% of both age groups want to be even more sustainable this year.
Cost is the main barrier to sustainability for businesses
Some companies reveal that cost is the main barrier to greater sustainability, particularly for larger companies, which may have more complex constraints in the supply chain. And indeed, if 40% of companies with 1-50 employees indicate it as a real obstaclethe percentage grows to 48% for larger companies (501-1,000 employees).
Although costs can be a barrier, especially in this period, however, larger retailers are the most likely (46%) to see the current economic landscape as an opportunity to accelerate their sustainability programs.
In fact, in the future, those who are more attentive to the climate will not only receive greater interest from consumers, but will also represent an economic advantage for the companies themselves.
Chat bubble made of recycled paper on green background. Reuse, reduce and recycle writes on the chat bubble. Horizontal composition with copy space.
Companies are finding new ways to create sustainable practices for their customers
Sustainable initiatives are welcomed by consumers, especially as nearly half (45%) globally say they are willing to pay a premium if it leads to a reduction in their carbon footprint.
Two very common sustainable practices among companies are, for example, the in-store recycling, offered by 37% of Italian companiesand sustainability programs in which a percentage of sales are donated to non-profit organizations (implemented by 32% of Italian SMEs).
But retailers can also use tools like Spotify’s Planet app, which can be used to zero-emit shipping. The app calculates estimated emissions for each order and helps merchants cut them by funding Shopify-backed carbon removal companies.
Planet has already neutralized shipping emissions from over 7 million orders with high-quality carbon removal, totaling over 6,000 tons of carbon.
The full report can be viewed here.