Increasingly consumers are voting with their wallets, favouring brands and businesses that affect positive change, according to the latest research from Klarna and Inside Retailer.

“When you can see sustainability through both the retailers’ and shoppers’ eyes, the conclusion is clear. Old ways are no longer sufficient, retailers must find new directions in sustainability or risk being left behind,” said Amie Larter, General Manager of Inside Retail’s publisher, Octomedia.

The  Inside Retail New Insights for Retailers Embracing Sustainability study reveals that paying lip service to sustainability can negatively impact sales and customer loyalty. COVID-19 has acted as a catalyst for re-examining consumers’ values and perceptions of life. 78 per cent of shoppers believe the behaviour of a brand is as important as what it sells, making a sustainable impact as crucial as ever.

Social impact high on the agenda

Australians spend around 30 per cent of household income at retailers, and most consumers engage with retailers on a daily basis. This puts retailers front of mind when shoppers think about their sustainability expectations of brands.

In fact, nearly half (47 per cent) of all Australian consumers say it’s very important to shop with retailers that support good causes

Retailers that prioritise social impact are winning with customers. Almost seven out of ten consumers (69 per cent) said they purchase from a new brand because they admire its positive impact activities. 71 per cent of shoppers say they would purchase more items and more frequently from their favourite brands if the business made a positive impact and supported worthwhile causes.

Only four per cent of Australian shoppers place zero importance on it.

One in five (20 per cent) shoppers say they are prepared to pay  a premium for brands that contribute to positive causes; however, price, quality, and convenience will remain the overriding consumer decision criteria and will sometimes derail their good intentions.

The impact on retailers

While keen to support retailer sustainability initiatives, Australian shoppers want assurances it’s a worthwhile investment of their time and money.

Aussie shoppers have very clear ideas about what they want retailers to focus on when supporting positive impact initiatives. Their top priorities are that retailers provide evidence of the impact of their efforts (55 per cent) and that retailers are not just doing good things for their own publicity.

Shoppers also value when retailers actually make big internal changes (36 per cent), when they involve outside experts (35 per cent), and when they don’t make their customers do all the work (32 per cent).

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