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THE STATE OF THE CONSCIOUS CONSUMER IN 2022

Published 04 Jan 2022 5 minute read

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Strategic Thinking
Consumer insight

There’s no denying that in recent years, the global pandemic, the #metoo and
#backlivesmatter movements, and climate change have increased conscious
consumption by today’s Mindful Consumer. Both  B2C and B2B brands have had to
re-align their purpose and restructure almost all aspects of their operations. 

Successful brands seek to understand the more conscious consumer and build their
strategies around their needs and wants. These same brands also focus their
energies on creating sustainable products and services in response to the
demands of this more mindful consumer. And as technology and supply chains
shift, they continually improve their products and services to create positive
social and environmental impact.


WHO IS THE CONSCIOUS CONSUMER?

Conscious consumers demand high-quality, sustainable and ethically-sourced
products and solutions at competitive prices. They also demand to know more
about the businesses they buy from in order to make well-informed purchase
decisions 

Conscious consumers have strong moral principles and pay attention to the
political, social and environmental landscape more than previous generations.
This then becomes the backdrop upon which they judge business practices and they
use their purchasing power to drive up the value of ethical businesses and
actively ‘cancel’ those that don't share and respect their values. 



The conscious consumer will do more than the usual level of research and due
diligence on the brands they buy from, to know how their products are sourced
and manufactured. The internet has enabled this level of scrutiny to happen in a
moment, and often in-store!

Conscious consumers want to know that workers are paid fairly and in ways that
minimise undesirable environmental effects. They’re not easily swayed by PR spin
and are distrustful of corporate grandstanding.


SHARED CRISES AND HYPER-CONNECTIVITY DRIVE EMPATHY

The headlines have shouted news of major global crises constantly over the past
five years. The notion that “we’re all in this together” has never rang more
true, nor has it been able to spread so quickly and efficiently thanks to social
media and hyper-connectivity. 

These feelings of empathy for others, and the growing sense of global
communities forming around the big issues of the day complement and bolster
behaviours and attitudes that align with conscious consumption.

Pair this with a generational shift (Boomers are retiring and Gen-Z has entered
the market), and you have a perfect storm of accelerating mindful consumerism.
As younger, more digitally connected consumers enter the market, conscious
consumerism is on this rise. It's been well documented and observed that Gen Z
tends to work for purpose, compared to the main drivers of Gen X (people) and
Boomers (companies). 

Today’s business and political leaders face continuing and increasing pressure
to adapt their policies and practices around the many and varied issues that
relate to conscious consumption.

With all this change reverberating around the globe, there has probably never
been a better or easier moment to get buy-in for major strategic, operational
and/or cultural overhauls within large organisations.

These changes may look different depending on if you’re in the B2C or B2B space.


HOW B2C BRANDS CAN TAKE ADVANTAGE OF CONSCIOUS CONSUMPTION

Start with a long look in the mirror. The larger the organisation, the more
likely there are to be ‘grey areas’ or things that could use improvement. An
honest self-assessment of the not-so-ethically wonderful things your
organisation may contribute to is a necessary first step in strategising how to
improve in an authentic, genuine way. 

For example, the Versiti Equality Self-Assessment tool is a good starting point
for helping asses some topics related to conscious consumption.

Remember, the goal is not to spin anything. It’s to admit that things can be
better, and actually go and fix them. Other questions to ask of your
organisation include:

 * Is your supply chain connected to ethically suspect labour markets?
 * Is your carbon footprint as low as it reasonably could be?
 * Does your management structure have issues with transparency, or nepotism?
 * Do you take sustainability practices seriously?
 * Do you have serious pay gaps between senior leaders and general workers?
   Between women and men?


EMBRACE RADICAL TRANSPARENCY 

In the digital age, finding information is the status quo, so it’s pretty easy
to tell when an organisation’s not being entirely honest.

There’s also a pervasive ‘positivity-at-all-costs’ mindset among many senior
leaders. That is: everything must be spun to be positive. Never use negative
words.



While this practice certainty has utility in certain situations, mindful
consumers are highly sensitive to any kind of spin. Attempting to put a positive
spin on something as serious as corruption, inequality, or environmentally
destructive practices is a bad idea. It’s much better to acknowledge the pain
and suffering these things can lead to, address the problem head-on, and explain
what’s being done to solve it.

Radical transparency can also involve admitting that you don’t have a solution,
or that you need help.


BRANDS AS EDUCATORS

We know that conscious consumers are actively searching for specific topics. Be
transparent and provide your customers with the information they need to make a
decision and highlight where there are gaps.

Things the conscious consumer wants to know:

 * Company history and who actually owns it
 * A commitment to brand values -  conscious consumers want brands to live their
   values
 * The organisation’s philosophy towards sustainability
 * How involved is the company in their local community?
 * What's the environmental impact of the business' operations? How deep does
   the supply chain extend?
 * Where does the firm stand on social justice, and do they do more than just
   pay-lip service?
 * What good causes does the business champion and support

You may not be able to answer all of these. Your particular audience may care
more about some than others. It's key to find out which are the most important
to your target audience.


HOW B2B BRANDS SHOULD ALIGN WITH CONSCIOUS CONSUMERS?

The conscious consumer trend will not pass B2B brands and businesses by. After
all, businesses are still run by people, who buy from or support other people!

Often, purchase decisions come down to a single decision-maker, and those
decision-makers are also likely to have a more ethical and mindful consumer
mindset.

Even in the financial world, these trends have started to take root through the
uptick in demand for ESG investing (Environmental, Social, and
Governance)—billions of dollars in hedge funds and other asset management firms
now must start to price in these conscious consumer-related topics.


1. KNOW YOUR CUSTOMER'S SENTIMENT

Talk to your customers, understand what's important to their customers - what
kind of ethical choices are their customers making. Ask if they’re feeling more
pressure or have a leaning towards working with organisations that are more
ethical and moral. Most will say “yes” (it’s a little taboo to admit that you
don’t care at all), so see if you can probe to see if their attitude has
manifested in actual decisions or policies. 


2. IF YOU CAN'T ACT NOW, PLAN FOR THE TREND

Maybe you don’t have the resources necessary to commit to a serious overhaul of
your problem areas right away. But ignore the movement at your peril. 

Real change is needed so you'll need to start figuring out how your business can
respond. For example, you might create an internal team to look into the
anticipated risks and opportunities of a world where conscious consumerism has
taken root in purchasing or procurement departments.  


3. CHALLENGE YOUR SUPPLY CHAIN

Many times, issues exist in the ecosystem of contractors, suppliers,
manufacturers or vendors that form part of your supply chain. Conscious
consumers recognise that your firm is making a conscious choice to work with
these businesses - it doesn’t look good if you chose a ‘bad one’ in order to
save a few bucks. Individual actions will count for a lot.

Re-evaluate problematic partnerships, get more information about the factories
you work with both directly and indirectly and put pressure on your supply chain
to align with the trend and do the same.

Consumers understand that pursuing sustainability is not an easy path. But they
want brands to keep trying every day to drive change.


HOW TO UNDERSTAND CONSCIOUS CONSUMERS OF YOUR PRODUCTS AND SERVICES?

Research and evidence should always play a key role in defining your strategy
and making big decisions. Knowing how your target audience thinks and feels
about sustainability, diversity and inclusion and equality will point you
towards the most impactful and cost-effective plan.

We suggest a five-pillar approach to helping brands get future-ready:

 * Inclusion
 * Sustainability
 * Transparency
 * Trust and Authenticity
 * Customer-centricity

You can read more about future-readiness and the five-pillar approach in our
article titled The Era of The Mindful Consumer. 


By Stephen Cribbett



ARTICLE CONTENTS

Who is the conscious consumer?

Shared crises and hyper-connectivity drive empathy

How B2C brands can take advantage of conscious consumption

 * Embrace Radical Transparency
 * Brands as educators

How B2B brands should align with conscious consumers?

 * Know your customer's sentiment
 * If you can't act now, plan for the trend
 * Challenge your supply chain

How to understand conscious consumers of your products and services?





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WE HELPED CHILLY’S LEADERSHIP TEAM CONSIDER NEW WAYS TO UNDERSTAND AND CO-CREATE
WITH THEIR CUSTOMERS’

Talk to us


WE WERE AMAZED AT THE LEVEL OF INSIGHT WE ACHIEVED IN JUST A WEEK. FURTHER
OPENED OUR EYES TO NEW WAYS OF RESEARCHING AND UNDERSTANDING OUR STAFF

We helped Conde Nast International define a new global mission and vision
statement

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statement

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FURTHER REALLY UNDERSTOOD THE BRIEF AND WERE EXTREMELY PROACTIVE. WE ARE NOW
VERY CONFIDENT THAT WE’RE TAKING THE RIGHT PRODUCTS AND PROPOSITION TO MARKET.

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case management software needed and how to position their offer

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Talk to us


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We helped Conde Nast International define a new global mission and vision
statement

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