A new study from Roland Berger Strategy Consultants, entitled "Socially responsible management and sustainability – What potential for producers and retailers?", has examined consumer attitudes toward CR and actual buying behaviour.
Consumers want companies to have socially and environmentally responsible management and are prepared to pay higher prices for it. This is a finding of the new CR study conducted by Roland Berger Strategy Consultants in collaboration with GfK Panel Services Germany. The study analyzes consumer attitudes toward CR and compares them with their actual buying behavior. The data shows that consumers with high CR expectations form a strong target group. It therefore makes sense for companies to integrate CR into their business model in a holistic way. If they get this right, companies can earn a lot of money with CR.
"The question of CR has become too important in today's society for it to be ignored. It is in a company's own interest to develop a holistic CR strategy and integrate it into their overall corporate strategy," says Regina Schmidt, Partner in the Consumer Goods & Retail Competence Center at Roland Berger Strategy Consultants. The international strategy consultancy, in collaboration with GfK Panel Services Deutschland, interviewed consumers about their attitudes on the issue of CR and compared these attitudes with their actual buying behavior. The study was based on a large survey of private households in Germany represented by two consumer panels: the GfK Consumer Scan and GfK Consumer Scope, each numbering 20,000 households.
Analysis of the questionnaire responses distinguished between five consumer types according to their CR attitudes and demands: the "dedicated volunteers", the "critical consumers", the "believers in hard work and progress", the "traditional hedonists" and the "independent family people". "Whereas, for example, the "dedicated volunteers" tend to be attracted to traditional CR topics such as environmental issues, ethical standards and human rights, the "independent family people" type is more interested in issues like food and health," explains Schmidt.
Attitudes influence purchasing decisions
"We have discovered that the attitudes of consumers really are reflected in what they choose to buy," says Carolin Griese-Michels, Principal at Roland Berger's Marketing & Sales Competence Center. Thus, the highest scores for "yes" responses to the question "Do you buy environmentally sound products?" were most evident among the "dedicated volunteers" (58%) and the "critical consumers" (59%). And these two consumer groups spend more than average on "green" detergents and cleaning agents. "They buy ecologically sound products as a conscious choice. They prefer suppliers who take what they see as the right holistic CR approach, and they don't mind paying higher prices for this," explains Griese-Michels. Organic food products are a good example: Among the "dedicated volunteers" and the "critical consumers", 32% of each group say they tend to go for the organic options. Not only is their attitude much more positive toward organics than the average consumer in Germany (21%), but they also put their money where their mouth is and spend a larger proportion of their food budget on organic products.
In addition to buying different products, the various consumer types also shop in different ways. At EUR 25,573 and EUR 24,332 per year by "responsibly committed" and "critically consuming" shoppers, respectively, these groups' total spending is the highest among all CR-aware consumers.
CR offers great potential for producers and retailers
Regina Schmidt explains, "It's important for a company to know which consumer types it sells to and what its customers want. This knowledge must be fed into the CR strategy." The study concludes that corporate responsibility offers major potential for producers and retailers. "But CR can only really work if it is understood as an integral profit-making component of the core business. It should no longer be seen as a cost factor or gimmick," says Regina Schmidt. Carolin Griese-Michels adds: "A haphazard CR strategy will inevitably fail to deliver. The crucial point is for a company to know the specific CR needs of its target groups and appeal to those consumers through a carefully targeted corporate and brand strategy. The time has come to earn money with corporate responsibility."
