Compelling Commerce and Sustainability are overlapping which impacts shopping and spending decisions.
Sustainable commerce is socially conscious ideas that connect commerce with CSR and ESG initiatives, speaking to the hearts and desires of consumers and enabling companies to do good for the physical and social community. This includes everything from the materials used, how they are made, packaged, shipped and sold, to supporting the communities that make the product by economically enriching them and ensuring the principles of social equality, diversity and inclusion are practiced throughout the business ecosystem.
Once a fringe trend practiced by a few, it has now become mainstream. Gen Z and Millennials are the driving force behind this trend with 90% making an effort to reduce their impact on the environment. And now their expectations from brands have evolved as well. They want brands to revamp every aspect of their business operation, not just marketing and seek transparency and proof around the actions they have taken. While this topic has many dimensions, in this edition of the Drop we explore the environmental side of sustainability and see how brands are connecting sustainable behaviors with their category to drive action. You will also see some exciting new ideas that can help your brand become more environmentally sustainable, both in the short term and the long run. Click here to learn more.
Sustainable Commerce means Planning for Longevity.
Plans that enable brands and retailers to find holistic success for their brand, customers, employees, and society at large. Sustainability implies that there is a bit of selflessness – i.e., prioritizing long-term impact along with short-term ones to achieve growth in both sales and shopper lifetime value.
Why should brands do this?
People still crave to interact with / associate with brands that stand for something they believe in. Activating on sustainability in any of these ways shows that brands care for the long-term success of communities and the earth.
Therefore in this report we look at the broad spectrum of social sustainability and explore topics in the health and wellness space from new functional food innovations that boost your immunity to how commerce is addressing the often stigmatizing issue of mental health. And in the social justice and equality space we look at how commerce is enabling diversity and inclusion at retail and how businesses are working to create sustainable communities.
Sustainability is not just a buzzword to be capitalized upon, but instead a holistic way of interacting with shoppers, communities and the planet. Brands may opt for different tactics in how they show up in the marketplace, but consumers will always be evaluating if the intentions and outcomes are beneficial.