Findings from a recent survey from Descartes Retailers: Sustainability is Not a Challenge, It’s an Opportunity, which examined consumer sentiment of retailers’ sustainability practices around their delivery operations, has found that only 38% of consumers feel retailers are doing a good job of using sustainable delivery practices.
In addition, other key findings include:
•The two product categories causing consumers to think twice about the environmental impact of online buying and home delivery are grocery (35%) and clothing and footwear (35%).
•However, consumers also indicated that they would buy more grocery (40%) and clothing and footwear (39%) from companies that demonstrate their supply chains are more sustainable than the competition.
•Over 50% indicate they are quite/very interested in environmentally-friendly delivery methods, and 54% would be willing to accept longer lead times for an environmentally-friendly delivery.
In fact, three of the top four answers involved combining orders or having the seller (retailer) recommend the most sustainable delivery option. Eco-friendly delivery options present a significant opportunity for retailers as they are more cost-effective than traditional deliveries because they drive delivery density. They combine increased customer satisfaction related to sustainability efforts with a positive impact to the bottom line.
In addition, Descartes’ research confirms the tide is turning as stats show that sustainability is starting to rival convenience in home delivery importance. Yes, consumers still rate convenience (40%) more important than environmental impact (23%). However, there was a large group (37%) that said that convenience and environmental impact were equal. Looking at it in aggregate, 60% of consumers have environmental importance expectations for their home deliveries. The “Holy Grail” will be online retailers that can provide convenience and show greater sustainability.
Companies that do a good job getting themselves branded as environmentally friendly stand a better chance of achieving more profitable home delivery operations. Longer lead times, for example, provide more options to improve the efficiency of the delivery which almost always results in a lower carbon footprint. In addition, 20% of respondents indicated they would pay more for a delivery from an environmentally friendly company.
“The mistake that many retailers are making is viewing home delivery sustainability as yet another challenge from the consumer instead of an opportunity to capture market share, reduce delivery costs and help the environment,” says Chris Jones, EVP, Industry and Services at Descartes. “The study shows that many consumers prefer to buy more from those retailers with superior sustainable delivery practices and to take eco-friendly delivery options that reduce environmental impact and delivery costs at the same time.”
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