Price-conscious retail with a conscience

Conscientiousness is defining behaviour as it has never done before.

The silent majority - which has never been so silent nor in such a majority - who abstained (or more exactly refused to vote) in this month’s elections were not expressing disenfranchisement so much as conscientious objection to the political establishment.

Unlike their maligned wartime counterparts, who lay in the shadows of D-Day’s 65th anniversary this month, today’s conscientious objectors are not recusant conscripts but positive protesters and they hold the sway of public opinion.

It is a phenomenon that extends from the ballot box to the checkout. We spend our pounds - just as we cast our votes - when and where we deem them worth it.

Conspicuous consumption is giving way to conscientious consumption. This is not just a sign of recessionary times but the dawning of an era. At Wal-Mart’s AGM last week, chief executive Mike Duke referred to the “new normal” when income is disposed of with more discretion - in good times as well as bad.

Price consciousness is undoubtedly more elevated in a recession. However, the threatened corollary - less importance for ethical concerns, traceable sourcing and social responsibility - has really not materialised as might have been expected. Consumers have clearly become more conscious of price, but they have not erased sustainability from the agenda.

The best retailers are recognising this, while at the same time sharpening their value proposition. Many high-profile suppliers are proclaiming similar conscientiousness. Danone chief executive Franck Riboud declared only last week that the price reductions it has instigated in response to the downturn will not be reversed “après la crise”.

Diboud believes that there is a permanent shift in consumer behaviour and that lowering prices to augment volumes is essential in order to keep the factories open, not just for now but for the foreseeable future.

From Defra’s championing of seasonal food to Delia Smith’s fashioning of frugality, the focus is on taking the greed out of ingredients and not being offered everything on a plate.

Conspicuous consumption has not been choked altogether, but there are signs of a new moral tone. At the Havaianas Customisation Bar in Galeries Lafayette in Paris this week, one can buy a bespoke pair of Brazilian flip flops for e35, adorned with as many Swarovski crystals as you care for, at €4 extra a crystal (or, if you insist, a 24-carat diamond for €590, which is transferred to a free new replacement pair of Havaianas every year). So far, so gaudy, but a proportion of the profits are paid to Gol de Letra, a charity set up to improve the education of children in Brazil. So you can stud your thong with bling but wear your heart on your sleeve.

Michael Poynor is chief retail adviser to PricewaterhouseCoopers