1、Consumer Products and Retail How sustainability is fundamentally changing consumer preferences Executive Summary Consumer preferences are strongly impacted by sustainability: Growing concerns about environmental challenges and the need for conservation of natural resources as well as greater expecta
2、tions around societal issues have brought sustainability into the mainstream for consumers and organizations. This extensive research program analyzes the impact of sustainability on consumers purchasing patterns and examines how far organizations have come in understanding and meeting their expecta
3、tions. Our key findings are: A significant majority of consumers (79%) are changing their purchase preferences based on sustainability. This contrasts sharply with the 36% of organizations who believe consumers are willing to make this change in their choices/ preferences based on social or environm
4、ental impact. Such a gap represents a risk of 6% of brands and retailers revenue if unaddressed. Consumers practice sustainability-led behavior in their daily life (eg, minimizing food waste or using energy-efficient appliances), and in their shopping behavior (eg, preferring products with minimal p
5、ackaging). They attribute positive emotions such as feeling “happy” when buying sustainable products, which shows the potential for sustainability to impact customer experience, happiness and loyalty. However, COVID-19 has made the situation more nuanced, with consumers weighing up safety issues aga
6、inst sustainability goals. For example, we are currently seeing a decrease in demand for used or refurbished products as customers prefer avoiding “touch-based” practices. At the same time, however, consumers are still keen to make sustainability work: 65% are willing to purchase alternative non-pla