The Rise of Green Consumerism and How Does It Affect the E-commerce Market?
For years, we've been using eco-friendly tote bags to store the goods we’ve bought from grocery stores. Sometimes, it’s the iconic paper bag. Because of that, we don’t see a lot of litter on the streets anymore.
Aside from fighting environmental pollution, packaging sustainability has also birthed a new breed of consumer mindset. This new belief is called Green Consumerism and it has changed a lot of business practices all over the world, especially in the E-commerce industry.
Let’s discuss what green consumerism is, how it affects online businesses, and the strategies you can use to cater to green consumers' needs.
What is Green Consumerism?
Green consumerism is a market state where consumers demand businesses and manufacturers to produce and deliver products and services by following eco-friendly practices. A statistic made by GlobalWebIndex back in 2020 revealed that 39% of digital consumers have their purchase decisions influenced by current environmental records.
The more the environment is negatively affected by consumerism, the more they are conscious of the practices businesses use to deliver goods and services.
4 Ways Green Consumerism Affects E-commerce
1. Eradication of plastic use
The main concern of green consumerism is that most goods are packed in plastic. And plastic does not decay or break down easily clogging drainages and killing wildlife. Because of this, businesses and manufacturers are forced to pack their products in recycled and biodegradable materials.
2. Higher costs for packaging
Plastic bags and containers are easier to produce. They can be taken from fossil fuels and molding them into all kinds of shapes requires less energy. On the other hand, eco-friendly packing uses a lot of recyclable materials. Making them into bags or wraps is also expensive.
As an online business owner, you would be forced to buy expensive packaging to please customers. But don’t worry, you can charge a little more for sustainable packaging and consumers won’t mind. In fact, most would be happy to pay extra.
3. Sustainable logistical means are used
Along with the rising trend of green consumerism, so is the need for goods to be delivered without the use of fossil fuels. Online food delivery services from countries in Southeast Asia are seeing increased demand for orders from delighted millennials and Gen Z’s.
Why? These platforms have initiated a delivery personnel program that emphasizes the use of bicycles instead of motorcycles. In the west, UPS, DHL, and Amazon have also committed to sustainability by releasing electric delivery van concepts.
4. Brands and businesses that engage in bad practices perform badly
Speaking of millennials and Gen Z’s, they are the most populous age demographic of the E-commerce industry. And they don’t shy away from using social media to call out businesses and brands that are stuck with the old ways.
Companies that are involved in unfair trade practices, still use plastics, or have troubles with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) lose a lot of sales when negative news comes out. It’s probably the reason why Apple doesn’t stay long on top of the global smartphone market share.
The reasons would be investigations of secretly doing business with companies running sweatshops in China. Transparency is essential for businesses nowadays. You must show your customers you have nothing to hide and you’re playing fair.
This strategy won’t only increase your sales, but will also attract more potential consumers because your current and happy patrons will advertise your brand for free.
Following environmentally-sustainable values as a business owner is a great challenge. It’s even harder to practice for entrepreneurs that are older than the millennial generation.
However, the rewards of catering to green consumers outweigh the risks. Not only can you appeal to the majority of online shoppers, but you’re also helping the planet heal and your community clean for your descendants to live in.
Read more about running an online business here!