Retail surgery: Are shoppers ready to make decisions based on ethical considerations?

It all depends on what kind of retail outlet you’re running and what sort of customers you’re trying to attract, says Jane Asscher, founding partner of integrated communications agency 23red. Some shoppers are keen to buy ethically, while others have different concerns.

People at the lower end of the socioeconomic spectrum with less disposable income are focused primarily on price and are much less concerned about the ethics of the supply chains that provide them with low-cost food and clothing - especially when the factories are far away from home.

“Sadly it’s a classic case of what the eye doesn’t see, the heart doesn’t grieve over,” says Asscher. During the recession more people have become price sensitive, hence the gain in market share of retailers such as Aldi and Primark.

If your shoppers are wealthier, it’s another matter entirely. These customers are attuned to the badge values that a brand with strong ethical associations can confer on them. Fairtrade has done well among the middle classes and the huge queues outside Sainsbury’s for Anya Hindmarch’s “I’m not a plastic bag” in 2007 confirmed the middle classes have passed the ethical tipping point.

Asscher says younger up-market shoppers are even keener. She points out that research commissioned by 23red indicates that this is the first generation that “expects brands to have corporate social responsibility baked in”.

She says: “To increase your appeal to these better-off customers who like to buy good things and do good as well, then make sure you stock brands with ‘green’, ‘sustainable’, and ‘ethical sourcing’ credentials and sign-post them in-store.”