There was a time not so long ago when news about finding a plastic shopping bag six miles below the surface of the ocean would have landed in the section labeled “Odd and Improbable.” Not anymore.
At the end of April, a manned submersible vehicle spotted a shopping bag and candy wrappers at the bottom of the Mariana Trench, a huge deep canyon in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It is the third such sighting in two years and became a leading news item. That’s compelling evidence that we’ve passed the tipping point in consumer awareness about sustainability, which means retailers will have to adapt and anticipate … or pay the penalty.
It reminds one of the famous speech by Patrick Henry, Virginia’s first governor, in which he uttered the words, “Give me liberty, or give me death!” Today the call to action might begin, “Give us sustainability,” as 2019 is shaping up as the year when consumers really begin to put their wallets where their hearts are. And those wallets will only become more powerful in the years ahead.
The Baby Boomers who once made up the largest segment of the purchasing public are retiring, and their impact on consumption is shrinking even as Millennials are entering their prime consumption years. A recent Pew Research Center study reported that voters aged 22 to 37 are considerably more liberal than older Americans. Further, they represent 28 percent of adult Americans and, according to Pew, are much more likely to support climate action and the political candidates who talk about it.
“These young people are poised to have an outsized impact on political races—this year and subsequently,” according to Pew. That means they will have an even bigger impact on the economy and especially on the retail sector. The message for retailers is parallel to the message Patrick Henry delivered in 1775: “The battle…is to the vigilant, the active, the brave.”
That battle is now on, in earnest. Next week in Detroit, brand consultant and media company Sustainable Brands is hosting a conference that includes a session titled, “What Constitutes The Good Life in the Eyes of Consumers.” Presenters will be researchers who have been examining what consumers expect from brands, and what earns their loyalty and drives their purchases.
San Francisco-based Sustainable Brands reports it commissioned a Harris Poll that found consumers are “shifting away from the pursuit of money, status and personal achievement, focusing instead on…the environment as a foundation of a ‘Good Life.’” The poll found that a whopping 80% of consumers say they will financially support brands who help them live a Good Life. This issue is, as Patrick Henry said when the American Revolution became inevitable, “one of awful moment [momentous] to this country.”
According to Sustainable Brands (SB), attendees at next week’s session will learn what researchers found out about “how consumers define The Good Life, what they believe about sustainability, what they expect from brands.” Data and data mining have never been more important to the retail trade than they are now as the Baby Bulge of millennials begin to drive the economy.
According to SB, brands need to learn “how to incorporate the concepts of ‘balance,’ ‘simplicity’ and ‘moderation’ that consumers now crave. They can use science, technology, storytelling and unlikely partnerships to meet the underlying demand for The Good Life and ultimately win in the market.”
Meanwhile, other research has identified sustainability as a top concern among consumers in the retail fashion industry. An eMarketer.com report last year, based on social media mentions, found that sustainability was the fourth most-frequent positive comment about fashion brands, after design, fit, and price. It’s worth noting that quality didn’t make that list as it would have a few years ago.
More evidence: The luxury resale market is booming, with marquee brands like Neiman Marcus jumping on the bandwagon. Consulting firm Bain & Co.recently reported that the resale market hit $6 billion in sales last year. Furthermore, this secondary market not only does not hurt demand for luxury goods, but actually boosts it.
As a recent report by CB Insights Luxury Trends noted, “Luxury shoppers selling their used luxury goods get more money to spend on first-hand goods.”Baghunter.com, a consumer website featuring luxury handbags, reports that the demand and price of a pre-owned Hermès Birkin bag “has skyrocketed over the past 35 years, generating an annual return of 14.2%.”
At a time when physical retail seems to be shrinking (although that is still open to debate), the next wave of consumers is driving the conversation and those companies that listen and are agile enough to adapt will live. Those which don’t give us sustainability are likely, to complete the Patrick Henry parallel, to die.
