Canadian Retailer - Fall 2014 - 16

thE coNSumER

nielsen reports that green consumers are:

MORE lIkElY TO
BuY ONlINE

MORE AffluENT

sPEND MORE
ONlINE

MAkE MORE
PuRCHAsEs
ONlINE ANNuAllY

WIllING TO
sPEND MORE fOR
PRODuCTs THAT
AlIGN WITH THEIR
INTEREsTs

MORE lIkElY TO
ADvOCATE GREEN
PRODuCTs AND
BRANDs TO fAMIlY
AND fRIENDs

Digitally green

The online world is where many
retailers are choosing to wage the
'green' war for customers, and for
good reason. "Consumers are doing
more research online and looking at
all the aspects of major purchases.
Increasingly, they are looking for the
green box as a sign that the product
they are purchasing is green," explains Evans. She also explains that
the online channel is the ideal place
to communicate their commitment to
green, as companies can more easily
use their data and information-rich
touch-points to merchandise, recommend 'greener' alternatives,' and
explain concrete data about their
environmental impact to attract and
retain green consumers.
16 |

cANADIAN REtAILER | fall 2014

Focusing efforts online is a wisestrategy for retailers, according to a
2013 study performed by Forrester
Research Inc., "Why Every Online Retailer Needs to Think Green." The report's recommendations are aimed at
understanding 'green' customers, their
behaviours and attitudes concerning environmental sustainability and
meaningfully engaging them based
on these findings.
Berglund agrees that the online
world is an important channel available for retailers to communicate with
customers about their green policies
and products, and believes it will only
grow in importance as consumers
demand more and more information
from them. "We've only scratched the
surface in terms of communicating
awareness of where products come
from and how they are manufactured,"
he asserts. "All companies are now
trying to position themselves to be
perceived as 'green' but they operate
under a wide variety of definitions of
what 'green' is. As consumers become
more educated and demand more information, it's important for retailers
to be as transparent as possible in defining how 'green' they are. Companies will also have to be more social
media savvy as consumers look for
good/bad buzz through social media."
Retail professionals across the industry agree that while for the majority of consumers shopping habits
are driven by the bottom line, green
retail and the customers that are targeted around this message cannot be
ignored. The advantages of green initiatives are too real to not pay attention to: the opportunity to gain market share by attracting new and often
wealthy 'green' customers, retaining
current customers, and potentially
transitioning current customers to
higher-ticket green products.
"Being green is about building trust
with consumers," says Evans. "If retailers do a good job in selecting items
that are healthy for us and the planet,
it will engender brand loyalty and
that, after all, is the underlying goal
of retail."
Canadian Retailer - Fall 2014

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