Part
01
of one
Part
01
What is driving the purchasing of social impact products?
Hello, and thanks for your question about what is driving the purchasing of social impact products. I have found that consumers are motivated to purchase social impact products through a need to support a good cause, a want to turn emotions about unethical practices into action, a sense of moral duty, a growing awareness and because it makes them feel good. In addition to this they believe it was help them to gain social approval and social status. Below you will find a deep dive into my research, along with all the details as to how I came to this conclusion.
OVERVIEW
Companies are striving to create products with social impact, despite its difficulty and cost. With research concluding that consumers are willing to pay more for socially responsible products, it leads to question why? What is driving this trend? I have found a number of articles which attempt to uncover the motivations consumers have for purchasing social impact products. In particular I found the ResearchGate research paper, the Co.Exist article and the American Marketing Association article particularly useful in helping me to answer this question.
FINDINGS
- PEOPLE WANT TO SUPPORT A GOOD CAUSE
Consumers are becoming more aware of the importance of socially responsible companies, their positive opinion towards them is growing. Many consumers now feel motivated to support these companies in order to show support for a specific good cause, and to believe that they are assisting in making a positive impact. In fact, 71% of Americans feel motivated to buy a product that supports a cause over one that does not. For example, there are a number of brands which market themselves as companies focussed on making a positive impact for a specific cause. For example, Buy for Good is an online marketplace which sells products made by people with mental health issues, and sales of the products directly impact this community. People would rather buy a product from a company that has impact like this, rather than from a random factory or seller.
- TURNING EMOTIONS ABOUT UNETHICAL PRACTICES INTO ACTION
Studies show that peoples' commitment to social impact products is motivated by their need to turn their emotions about unethical practices into action. Research has identified three common emotions that are driving this, contempt, concern, and celebration.
- MORAL DUTY
A study published in the International Journal of Business and Social Science claims that the main reason why consumers are interested in purchasing social impact products is because of their sense of moral duty. People believe that purchasing social impact products will have an effective impact on social problems that they consider to be important. Importantly, consumers generally see these issues as taking a higher priority over other factors that influence purchasing choice such as price.
- GROWTH OF AWARENESS
One argument is that what is driving the popularity of socially impactful products is simply the growing awareness that consumers have of their social responsibility, and the impact and responsibility of companies. This sentiment is summed up well by these comments from research director at Ubiquity, Jennifer Ciuffo Clark “The research has revealed an increasingly sophisticated consumer”, “Global consumers have high demands for companies to address social and environmental issues, but they now also understand they have an obligation to make change, as well. It’s critical for companies to understand the nuanced drivers, barriers and opportunities that resonate among discerning global audiences.”
- TO FEEL GOOD
Research from Mintel has uncovered that 58% of consumers are motivated to buy ethically produced products because it makes them feel good. In addition to this, around half of consumers will also consider how a company treats its employees in order to judge whether they are an ethical company who they would buy from.
- SELFISH NEEDS
In light of much of the research outlined above, some industry experts believe that people actually act different to how they talk. While people may claim to be motivated to support social causes, they may not be making purchases based on this. An article by Co.Exist argues that people actually are more motivated to by products based on their self-interest, rather than a desire to do good. They claim that the main motivations for purchasing social impact products are to gain social approval, and to achieve recognition and social status.
- MILLENNIALS
It is known that millennials are the generation who are feeling the growth of social impact products. Research shows that sustainability is a priority to them when they are making shopping decisions. They are also increasingly happy to pay more for products that have a positive social impact. This demand from millennials is driving brands to change. Brands are updating their strategies to focus on addressing their corporate responsibility.
CONCLUSION
Overall, I have found that consumers are motivated to purchase social impact products through a need to support a good cause, a want to turn emotions about unethical practices into action, a sense of moral duty, a growing awareness and because it makes them feel good. In addition to this they believe it was help them to gain social approval and social status. Finally, millennials are the generation who are driving these trends.
Thanks for using Wonder, let us know if there's anything else we can help out with!