Retail Start Ups Lead the Way At Being Openly Sustainable
11-06-2019
BJSS, the UK’s award-winning, delivery focused IT and business consultancy has just released a new retail report named ‘You, Me and Sustainability’, which reveals start-ups are leading the way when it comes to sustainability versus major retail brands.
The report investigates what retailers are doing in terms of being sustainable and how they can (and should) help consumers, by providing an honest assessment of major brands like Lush, IKEA and Stella McCartney. The report also investigates the start-ups that are pushing the industry to change, notably Henri, Neal’s Yard and Aida.
BJSS’ retail team has identified the following three trends that resonate across both established retailers and start-ups and the current opportunities, including:
1. Lack of customer engagement in sustainability
o Very few of the stores offered customer education about sustainability of value chains, they are missing a trick by not educating their consumers by not shouting about how they work.
2. No complete value chain transparency
o There is a huge opportunity for someone to get value chain transparency right for the first time: everyone from sustainable design, to transport, to reuse of materials.
3. Gap in men’s fashion
o There is a notable gap in sustainable men’s fashion, there is an opportunity for established retailers to create a demand.
BJSS’ retail experts ranked every store visited against the same five criteria:
· Brand
o The ability to establish a strong personality to distinguish themselves from others and build a lasting relationship with their consumers
· Education
o Clearly communicating their story to consumers to build awareness, trust and to help explain reasons for price differences
· Community
o Creating a sense of community to open a conversation with like-minded consumers
· Honesty
o The ability to maintain brand integrity and provide a high level of information about their products and their journey from source to shelf
· Experience
- Combining consumer service, convince, quality and choice
Click the link below to read and download the full report by Melissa Wade online and get inspired by the start-ups that put sustainability at the forefront of their business.
