Is Sustainability Sustainable in Retail?
Author: Greg Petro
According to a recent First Insight study, on average 75% of ALL generational groups from Gen Z to Baby Boomers care about retailers being sustainable and offering sustainable products. The same report shows that consumers are not willing to pay enough more for sustainability to cover the costs. Further, the information indicates that the industry has not done a great job educating consumers on what sustainability means or how to identify it properly so that a consumer can correctly relate to the initiative or product. many executives still say that consumers don’t know what they want, and it is their role to determine that for them. While I do agree that it is an executive’s or decision maker’s responsibility to make those decisions completely – and they should – my point of view is that we should arm them with the best possible facts and data to make them. Test, test and test…it is the best form of listening and seeking to understand. The alternative is a competitive disadvantage and far more risky.