New research from Australian marketing services provider Salmat has found that a large number of Australian shoppers are swayed by sustainability and ethical brand behaviour when it comes to purchasing products.
Study results
The joint Salmat and ACRS study, which reportedly investigated the impact that ethical behaviour and corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices have on shoppers found that:
- 34 per cent of shoppers are willing to pay more for environmentally-friendly products.
- 31 per cent of shoppers admit to not purchasing a product due to a brand or product’s values, ethics or sustainability practices.
- 72 per cent of shoppers rank ethical brand behaviour in their top three purchasing priorities.
“Ethical consumerism is on the rise, and our research shows that CSR practices do affect consumer purchase decisions,” said Salmat’s Head of Digital and ECommerce, Karen Lewis. “In some cases, consumers are even willing to pay more for CSR practices.”
Ms Lewis advises that, to stay ahead, brands need to “understand what CSR practices will resonate best with their target audience”.
Customer CSR trends and insights
Customer CSR trends and insights reportedly reveal:
- The environment is the most important social issue to consumers.
- Ethical brand behaviours are most important for grocery brands.
- Search engines outrank social media for ethical brand behaviour research.
- Consumers want brands to be advocates, but it needs to be authentic.
“Consumers today expect brands to be authentic,” added Ms Lewis. “They can usually determine when a brand is genuinely advocating for an issue or just taking advantage of one.”
