Sustainability is not your enemy

Welcome to "nouveau monde", a four-handed newsletter to better understand how to make the world better through the lens of retail. This is #58. Did we forget to wish you a Happy New Year?

Phil Jeudy

and

Anthony Puech

Feb 9

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Le menu du jour at nouveau monde is about how customer adopt a sustainable behavior through the lens of Retailers…or not.

Today's newsletter is 663 words, a 3-minutes read.

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Time to promote what matters

by Anthony

I know I might not be the standard guy about it but I tend to flee when I see big discounts in stores. I always feel uncomfortable trying to imagine why the original price was so high, why it is so low now ? If I understand why, I’m ok to buy (fresh produce with short living time, nice shirt with a small tear), if not, goodbye nice savings for me !

Interesting then to notice that the German supermarket chain REWE adopted the codes of discount but to focus on the CO2 footprint of products.

The claim could be

“you won’t save money if you buy this product, but you might save the planet”

Well maybe, this is what it says but my German is too bad to understand…

Anyway, I think it is really smart to embark the same tips that are used since decades to make us buy more but use them for the good.

Yes, I know, in this times of inflation, price matters for most of us and a lot of people just try and find something to eat, have a roof. This campaign, as well as the chain supermarket that created it is dedicated to people who can afford to pay a little premium.

And this is pretty smart as people with higher incomes are the biggest CO2 emitters, thus the ones that should take care of their daily emissions. Even if taking care of the CO2 emission of your oat milk be completely annihilated by your next flight to Bali or your last luxury SUV… but one step at a time.

Fight your enemies with their own weapons.

source : TrendWatching

Sustainability: are customers way ahead from Retailers?

by Phil

RSR provides insight into business and technology challenges facing the extended retail industry, and thought leadership and advice on navigating these challenges for specific companies and the industry at large.

RSR has been talking about environmental sustainability in retail for a really long time. They launched their very first “Green Report” reaching out to this conclusion: retailers didn’t really care much about anything that wasn’t related to electrical or HVAC cost reductions in their stores.

What about now in 2023? Allow me to share their work and conclusions.

Figure 1 shows just what retailers currently think of the matter.

Source: RSR Research, January 2023

According to retailers, sustainably-sourced products are a customer-driven initiative, period – full stop. This is not even about lowering operating costs – this is about telling a story to please customers
A majority think that story is more about buzz than it is substance, to date
The vast majority (86%) think sustainably sourced products can thus be a differentiator for their brand, and
Nearly 9 out of 10 retailers think they’ve done a good job promoting their efforts in this space to date

Figure 2: However, Consumers Have Different Ideas

Source: RSR Research, January 2023

For consumers this isn’t about buzz, and it isn’t about things that might easily be put out of sight and therefore out of mind (C02 emissions, manufacturing environments, etc.). This is about them – and their health. And it doesn’t just stop with importance: shoppers tell us they are willing to put their money where their mouths are.

Figure 3: Willing To Pay