US Consumers’ 2024 Sustainability Score Declines and Lags the Global Average, According to New Report
2024年4月19日 - 10:00PM
ビジネスワイヤ(英語)
ESW’s Global Voices Report Shows Many
Developing Countries—including India, UAE, China, and Mexico—Are
More Sustainably-Minded
US consumers are less sustainably minded than they were just a
year ago, according to a new Global Voices survey from ESW, the
world’s leading direct-to-consumer (DTC) ecommerce company. Scoring
just 49 this year versus 51 in 2023, the US also lags the global
mean, which is 55. The report also reveals that some emerging
markets are more concerned about sustainability than their
counterparts in more economically mature markets. For example,
India (75), the United Arab Emirates (74), China (70), and Mexico
(67) topped the list, with Japan (32), Germany (46), UK (46),
Switzerland (48), and Canada (48) all coming in with the lowest
sustainability scores.
“We were surprised to discover that the degree to which
consumers are concerned about sustainability, as well as what they
value from the brands they patronize, depends largely upon where
they live,” said Martim Avillez Oliveira, Chief Revenue Office,
ESW. “The data suggests that while US consumers have been
encouraged to make environmentally responsible choices for years,
perhaps the intensity of that messaging, along with the increasing
strain that inflation places on households, may have consumers at a
tipping point.”
The sustainability sentiment score represents the percentage of
respondents that “agree” or “strongly agree” with 14 of the
sustainability sentiments, including, “I am trying to be more
sustainable in my day-to-day life,” “I have stopped buying from
certain brands and retailers because of their poor environmental
record,” and “I try to buy/shop more sustainably, but will not
spend more for more eco-friendly products.”
Other key findings include:
- Sustainability by generation: In general, younger people
were more concerned with sustainability than older generations.
Global average sustainability scores by generation:
- Gen Z - 61
- Millennials - 60
- Gen X - 53
- Baby Boomers – 49
- Within the US, Millennials score highest compared to other
generations, yet also declined compared to last year.
Millennials scored 59 on the sustainability index, (compared to 62
last year) but still rank higher this year than Gen Z (57), Gen X
(50), and Baby Boomers (35).
- One-third of all global respondents are environmentally
attuned shoppers. The survey classifies shoppers who scored 80
or above on the sustainability scale as environmentally attuned
shoppers.
- Globally, more than half of the consumers surveyed (55%)
said they are more aware of greenwashing than they were a year
ago, and 27% said they considered a brand’s environmental
transparency record when making a purchase.
- Luxury shoppers are 1.5x more likely to be sustainably
attuned shoppers.
- Shoppers that value brand authenticity are 50% more likely to
be environmentally attuned shoppers. Globally 63% of shoppers
said that they value brand authenticity and want brands to be
truthful and transparent about company environmental
credentials.
- Shoppers that value brand names are also more likely to be
sustainably minded shoppers with a sustainability score of 62
compared to 47 for non-brand name shoppers. 32% of brand name
shoppers are likely to be environmentally attuned shoppers.
Furthermore, brand name shoppers believe that a brand name means
higher quality and better value. These shoppers have high
expectations not just of products and services, but also of
environmental records.
While “sustainability” can be defined by consumers in a variety
of ways, the survey found that despite this ambiguity, there are
several concrete steps brands can take to attract and retain
environmentally attuned shoppers. The report finds that 31% of
consumers consider sustainable packaging options when shopping
online, while 30% consider sustainable shipping options, and 29%
value less packaging overall.
To learn more, download the full report here.
Methodology Responses were
gathered from an online panel of adults 18+, representative of
national quotas for key demographics in 18 countries. Survey
questions and responses were translated into each country’s native
language and currencies were converted to local currencies before
being converted back to $US for comparison purposes. 18,679 surveys
were completed between October 31st and November 14th, 2023.
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Media Berns Communications
Group Michael McMullan/Danielle Poggi mmcmullan@bcg-pr.com
/ dpoggi@bcg-pr.com