55% of consumers are more loyal to brands with sustainable returns
The guilty feeling that comes from wrapping a product back up in excess plastic and stuffing it into a cardboard box is leading to a desire for sustainable returns processes among 51 per cent of shoppers, according to data published by SAP Emarsys.
Based in Indianapolis, the provider of customer engagement software surveyed over 2,000 Americans to produce its research, which went live amid the Shop Talk retail conference last week.
The concept of sustainable returns could be open to definition, but the SAP Emarsys data gave an indication of what processes consumers are most likely to support. For instance, 56 per cent would like to see retailers accept returns at local depots rather than having to ship them.
More than half (53 per cent) also agreed that retailers should sell items that get returned at a lower price.
The survey also showed that sustainability was particularly important to younger demographics. About a third (33 per cent) of Gen Z consumers, for example, said sustainability trumps price as their most important purchase consideration.
“The key is identifying the root of the problem – why are customers returning items in the first place?” SAP Emarsys said in a statement accompanying the findings. “Leveraging AI-powered personalization, retailers can learn from customer data to transform customer experiences and elevate personalization so that shoppers purchase the perfect item the first time.”
360 Magazine Insight
The handful of stats SAP Emarsys published seems more intended to stimulate conversations about its platform than a deeper dialogue on sustainability. It’s actually surprising the findings aren’t a little higher, considering the survey clearly put the onus more on brands than shoppers themselves.
It would have been telling, for example, if the survey had asked shoppers how often they do any research into a brands’ sustainable return practices (or lack thereof) before making a purchase.
There’s also little connection between returns processes and a broader sustainability agenda. Many of us have ordered organic wellness products or environmentally-friendly stationary, for instance, only to have it arrive in layers of packaging that wind up in landfills. Sustainable returns are important, but so is reducing waste in earlier stages of the customer journey.
Some brands are already making inroads from a sustainable returns standpoint. Take Ulta Beauty, which recently expanded its take-back program that lets customers drop off empty beauty-product packaging for recycling to every store.
While personalization could certainly reduce the rate of product returns, meanwhile, so could trying to extend the life of existing products, or cutting back on some spending altogether. Ultimately, nothing drives greater sustainability than consuming less.
