by Amy RountreeAcross our recent insight pieces into shopping locally, wellness trends, independent coffee shops, and growing your own; sustainability and the environment have appeared as concerns informing customers’ purchasing behaviours.
Maybe* have taken a look at the conversation about shopping sustainably to understand the trends, tactics and takeaways independent retailers can tap into to inform their own marketing and business operations.
Large High Street players like Zara are laying out their plans to use 100% sustainable fabrics, pressure is mounting on online brands to reduce or replace their plastic packaging; and lotions and potions favourite Lush, went packaging free earlier this year. There is no getting away from the fact that all businesses and organisations have a responsibility for their planet as well as their profits.
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From fast fashion to luxury, customers and brands are increasingly investing in sustainable materials.
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With Christmas coming up, thoughts are increasingly turning to how to make Christmas more sustainable. From doing away with gift wrap and plastic free crackers, to buying or making secondhand and upcycled gifts, Santa is set to get sustainable in 2019.
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It’s not just retailers responding to the current climate for packaging change. F&B outlets and cinemas are replacing plastic straws and packaging with natural alternatives like bamboo and banana. Cardboard coffee and fizzy drinks cups are on their way out with customers bringing their own increasingly incentivised.
As well as reusable receptacles for water, coffee, and your favourite smellies, increasingly spaces are being provided to refill toiletries and cleaning products. Pop-ups, markets, shopping centres, and unused units are doubling as places customers can pop in and top up their existing bottles and boxes.
Really looking forward to the opening of The Dispensary store in Walkden tomorrow, an eco friendly shop providing refills of toiletries and cleaning products. Please pop down and support this local business https://t.co/aXqbmBm4PJ
— Richard Critchley (@CllrCritchley) November 15, 2019
Some good tips on here - we also stock some great eco friendly Christmas gifts and products too! ???#Christmas #refill #reuse #Recycle #refillingstation How to have an eco-friendly Christmas: 39 tips for hosting a 'green Christmas'' | via @telegraph https://t.co/vHf24QZowE
— The Refilling Station (@refillstation1) November 20, 2019
As well as using social media analytics to understand what products your customers like best, you can also use this insight to think differently about your business operations. Understanding whether your customers want less packaging from you and responding appropriately, is a great opportunity for your brand awareness and positive word of mouth about you. But understanding your conscious customers and their needs can inform more than your communications or social media strategy. It could help inform your product buys, your stock levels, and suppliers; contributing to the reduction of waste, and your carbon footprint.
