Identifying the motivations for shopping ethically and assessing interest in different ethical product types

The growth of ethical shopping

As celebrity chefs highlight the welfare of chickens, the demise of the free carrier bag becomes front page news, and the momentum of Fairtrade Fortnight grows, shoppers are constantly reminded of the ethical issues associated with their everyday shopping decisions.

The good news is that demand for ethical products is growing as fast as ever, with no sign that it has been affected by gloomy economic sentiment. But shoppers are increasingly faced with complex trade-offs about ethical products, which offer contrasting benefits for the environment, the consumer or for local or distant producers.

Identifying the guiding principles that influence ethical shopping decisions

Source: IGD Consumer Unit, 2008

Motivations for shopping ethically

When we researched this issue for our Ethical Shopping – Are Shoppers Turning Green? report, we found that shoppers in the UK rely on a number of guiding principles to help them navigate the growing complexity of trade-offs associated with shopping decisions.

Animal welfare is a concern of 2/3 of shoppers

Where once ethical products were packaged in a subdued manner, if they made it onto the shelf at all, the growing market means it is critical to address underlying consumer needs when communicating the benefits of an ethical brand or product.

There are a number of common themes to these principles, including: personal beliefs, where shoppers establish a strong belief system about what food is right; feeling good, where shoppers take a more emotional approach; and health and wellbeing, which can act as an overriding focus for certain shoppers, particularly for young newlyweds and singletons.

Some shoppers want to bring objective fairness to farmers and producers, at home and abroad, as well as the concern for animal welfare. Shoppers are also increasingly hungry for knowledge about where their food has come from, how sustainable it is and the implications for future generations.
 

Interest in different ethical product types

Q1, Base: All main shoppers (n=1,092) Source: IGD Consumer Unit, 2008

Issues regarded as ethical

Fairly traded and animal welfare issues are clearly understood by shoppers to be ethical issues. The other product types, namely environmentally friendly, organic and local/British products often do involve an ethical consideration. However, there may also be other motivations driving interest in these product types, for example, health, taste, food safety, product quality, local economics and patriotism.

Interest in ethical shopping

Over eight in ten shoppers are interested in ethical shopping. Older or richer shopper are, not surprisingly, more likely to show an interest in ethical shopping, however these issues are increasingly universal and around three in four 15-24 year olds and DE households also express some interest.

Over eight in ten shoppers are interested in ethical shopping.

As befitting a nation of animal lovers, products that address animal welfare issues attract the widest appeal, with over two in three UK shoppers stating an interest, driven particularly by free range. While free range or barn eggs have become the habitual choice for many shoppers, recent TV programmes and related campaigns fronted by celebrity chefs have made a significant impact in raising awareness of animal welfare issues associated with food. Women are more likely to be interested in animal welfare issues than their male counterparts.

Three of the areas (local/British, environmentally friendly and fairly traded) each resonate with around one in two shoppers, again demonstrating the breadth of interest in these ethical issues.

Ethical shopping hits mainstream

Ethical shopping is part of the mainstream and provides an opportunity for brands that include ethical credentials in their positioning. But the challenge remains to turn latent interest into actual purchasing.

More information:

Ethical Shopping - Are UK Shoppers Turning Green? IGD's ethical consumerism report reveals an upsurge in interest in ethical shopping trends such as fairly traded, environmentally friendly, local and organic products, as well as animal welfare issues.

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Tim Maton is IGD's Senior Consumer Analyst and has a wealth of experiencing in providing shopper insight to a broad range of retailers and manufacturers, including many leading players in the food and grocery sector. This has involved a broad mix of research techniques on both a continuous and ad hoc basis. Tim was involved in writing IGD's Ethical Shopping - Are Shoppers Turning Green? report and has contributed towards IGD's Shopper Trends - 5 Years On and Balancing Food and Non-Food In-store reports.