Indian shoppers are becoming more aware and conscious of what they are buying and as a result willing to buy in to brands that follow ethical and sustainable practices, according to a CII-AT Kearney report on sustainable retail.
In its report AT Kearney said that over 70% of those surveyed by the company in India said they are looking for brands that are sustainable and trustworthy, much higher that their global counterparts.
While the trend has picked pace globally, with brands across the value chain talking about adopting more sustainable practices, sourcing ethically, and reducing their carbon footprint, in India such concerns among consumers are small but beginning to impact brands.
AT Kearney noted that consumers in India are in fact willing to pay more for environmentally friendly or socially minded brands across categories such as automobiles, apparel, personal care, fresh and packaged foods.
Millennials and Gen Z were the most willing to pay among other cohorts for such goods in India.
For many years, conversations around sustainability were shunned in the background as they didn’t figure in consumer decision making. But that has changed as shoppers get more aware and curious about what they eat, wear and what impact their consumption habits have on the environment at large.
It is already trickling into the numbers. If brands do not build that trust going forward, they will lose out not just the millennial consumers but the Gen Z consumers as well. It is showing up in their demands and in the P&L in a small manner.
Today, alternative and eco-friendly packaging is more expensive—it is more the upwardly mobile strata of the society who is willing to pay for it. We need to make alternative and sustainable forms of packing more economical so they can be adopted en mass
Reference- livemint, CII-AT Kearney report, Financial Express