A new survey by the British market research company YouGov shows that sustainable shopping has become more difficult for many consumers.
The survey was conducted on behalf of Manhattan Associates GmbH, which offers solutions for the supply chain. The company announced on Wednesday that it was examined how sustainable consumers in Germany behave when shopping online and which options they want to use more in the future.
According to the representative online survey, most consumers expect companies to act in a responsible and climate-friendly manner, but pay less attention to sustainability when it comes to their own purchasing behavior.
At 66 percent, the majority of respondents agree that sustainable shopping has become more difficult due to inflation and supply bottlenecks. Despite the financial and environmental benefits, only 43 percent of respondents said they buy second-hand clothes regularly or sometimes. That is more than in the product categories electrical appliances and household appliances.
Room for improvement when it comes to returns
According to the survey, there is great potential for action with returns. Online retailers could encourage consumers to be more sustainable, primarily through environmentally friendly returns: 18 percent of those surveyed would like companies to establish a sustainable product life cycle. Returned products should therefore be fully recycled. 41 percent of the participants in the survey would still like repair services so that broken goods do not have to be replaced directly.
According to the survey, detailed product information on the websites minimizes the probability of a return even before the actual purchase: Almost half of those surveyed (48 percent) stated that they compare product dimensions and properties before ordering in order to avoid returns.
“Consumers want companies to be more sustainable – but current political and economic developments make it difficult for many of them to consistently pay attention to sustainability when shopping online,” says Pieter Van den Broecke, Manhattan Associates Managing Director for Central and Eastern Europe & Denmark. “Companies need to take responsibility and offer their customers convenient, sustainable options.”
Around 2090 people aged 18 and over took part in the online survey between May 26 and 29, 2023.