Wirtschaft und Gesundheit -Kongress
| Sustainability (LOHAS) Index | | Drucken | |
|
While status and image may motivate the purchasers of higher-end sustainable goods, most mainstream consumers are still making a price vs. value decision at the point of purchase. A Sustainability Index can help better inform these decisions and drive market growth. Just recently an article on Sustainable Life Media asked: “Are green products too cheap?” Based on findings of the University of Minnesota it was stated that “the most effective way to gain and retain customers is to raise product prices – appealing to status motives”. Affordability is Key It is true that status and image are motivators for purchasers of some higher end, sustainable products -- Toyota Prius drivers have been pointed to as an example of this many times. However the majority of daily purchasing decisions consumers make are still based on price comparison, or at minimum, the perception of comparative value advantage. Truly, it is the “distance” between sustainable, and conventional product alternatives that often defines which product finds its way to the shopping cart. In far too many cases, this comparison leads to a disadvantage for the sustainable alternative. Consumers may be willing to believe that the sustainable product delivers the better quality and performance - but they are not equipped to evaluate the price to value differential. Scale and Performance are Critical Most sustainable products still sit in a niche position in their markets. As a consequence, they lack the cost efficiency benefits of producing at scale that are enjoyed by their conventional product counterparts. Moreover, the sustainable product producer may strive to produce a product of superior quality by committing to a more refined way of sourcing materials and manufacturing. Again, these efforts to produce a value differential tend to put even more “pricing distance” between sustainable and conventional alternatives. The trouble comes in the effort to communicate simply, and in a trustworthy manner, the value of the production and material differences. Instead, consumers are confronted with new product information, new claims, and new product features that are unclear to them. For example, they are asked to understand for themselves the benefit difference between “natural” and “organic”, or to understand the meaning and implications of the term “biodegradable”. These challenges often simply overstress most consumers and lead to a failure at purchasing to convince the consumer to purchase in alignment with their values. Furthermore, manufacturer labels and certification may help, but in the advent of question surrounding the legitimacy of even the best branded eco-label, Energy Star, recently, consumer confidence in labels is understandably shaken. How a Sustainability Index Can Help In 2009, Wal-Mart initiated the ambitious project of developing a sustainability index with the intention to consumers better understand the “sustainable performance” of the products they consume. Their efforts to found the “Sustainability Consortium” led critics to fall silent and opened the way for a wider stakeholder involvement. What kind of impact might this index have on consumption and buying behavior? Once introduced – most likely in all categories of retail – the sustainability index has the potential to change the way the consumer goods industry operates today. Suppliers are obliged to share lifecycle data inventory and are asked to give insight into their supply chains. Buying decisions of retailers take into account how a product performs against the sustainability index. In a “moment of truth” (A.Lafley, P&G) consumers can identify at shelf how sustainable a product offer really is. The final buying decision becomes ultimately a decision about the shopper’s choice to live a “sustainability life style”. A New Challenge for Industry Better informed and educated consumers represent a new challenge for everyone in industry. They are a signal of disruptive change, and they will be equipped with tools and mobile applications that empower them to demand new levels of transparency from brands. This soon to be more informed consumer base is a concern for those who have not moved yet. However it heralds the opportunity for growth for those who are already investing to change existing products, formulation, sourcing etc. These leaders will be the first winners of a new dynamic between industry, retailers and consumers. A Potential Chain Reaction Let’s assume the Index can lead to a change in buying behavior and creates a shift of preference towards better scoring products. Market share gains always move markets, independent of if it is “share stealing” from conventional brands, or even better, generating new demand and market growth. Both will cause reactions with retailers as well as manufacturers. Retail buyers tend to give shelf space to their winning products and open new space for newcomers with winning prepositions. Motivated by consumers and retail buyers, the manufacturing industry will move the needle towards those products that perform well against the sustainability index. New Dimensions of Competition Thanks to the Sustainability Index and other new initiatives to empower consumers with better data and insight in to product sustainability, the future may no longer only about who is the cheapest, who the loudest, who the brightest, or who gains most space in promotion and at shelf. Understanding that consumers and retail buyers see the index score as a relevant factor for their decision making will produce big change within the industry. Making existing products perform better in the index by improving formulation, reducing packaging, or changes in supply chain and sourcing will become a critical mandate for the industry. Integrating the index requirements like life cycle impact data in an early stage of the new product development process will become mandatory for R&D and Marketing teams. If innovation becomes more sustainable, bigger parts of advertising and promotion budgets will be invested to penetrate the public with sustainability messages. Advancing sustainability by using the market’s transaction mechanism can become the ultimate outcome of a sustainability index. Finally, there may be hope of scale and relevance and the rules of supply and demand that will produce affordable prices for sustainable products – at least that is the plan. Lets see how things unfold.
www.sustainablelifemedia.com
|
| < zurück |
|---|
