66% of consumers willing to pay more for sustainable goods, Nielsen report reveals

by joshua2 | Media

• 66% of survey respondents are willing to pay more for sustainable goods, up from 55% in 2014, and 50% in 2013

• Sales of consumer goods from brands with a demonstrated commitment to sustainability have grown more than 4% globally, while those without grew less than 1%.

• Millennials are the most willing to pay extra for sustainable offerings—almost three-out-of-four respondents (73%), up from approximately half in 2014.

• Commitment to the environment has the power to sway product purchase for 45% of consumers surveyed

Committing to sustainability might just pay off for consumer brands, according to the latest Nielsen Global Corporate Sustainability Report. In the past year alone, sales of consumer goods from brands with a demonstrated commitment to sustainability have grown more than 4% globally, while those without grew less than 1%.

“Sustainability is a worldwide concern that continues to gain momentum—especially in countries where growing populations are putting additional stress on the environment,” says Grace Farraj, senior vice president, Public Development & Sustainability, Nielsen.

Brand trust

Topping the list of sustainability factors that influence purchasing for nearly two-of-three (62%) consumers globally: brand trust.

“This indicates an opportunity for consumer-goods’ brands that have already built a high level of trust with consumers to evaluate where best to introduce sustainable products into the market to drive growth,” says Carol Gstalder, senior vice president, Reputation & Public Relations Solutions, Nielsen. “On the flip side, large global consumer-goods’ brands that ignore sustainability increase reputational and business risk. This may give competitors of all sizes, the opportunity to build trust with the predominantly young, socially- conscious consumer looking for products that align with their values.”

Willingness to pay a premium

Sixty-six percent of global respondents say they are willing to pay more for sustainable goods, up from 55% in 2014 (and 50% in 2013). And it’s no longer just wealthy suburbanites in major markets willing to open their wallets for sustainable offerings. Consumers across regions, income levels, and categories are willing to pay more, if doing so ensures they remain loyal to their values. Sustainability sentiment is particularly consistent across income levels. Those earning $20,000 or less are actually 5% more willing than those with incomes greater than $50,000 to pay more for products and services that come from companies who are committed to positive social and environmental impact (68% vs. 63%).

“Consumer brands that haven’t embraced sustainability are at risk on many fronts,” says Gstalder. “Social responsibility is a critical part of proactive reputation management. And companies with strong reputations outperform others when it comes to attracting top talent, investors, community partners, and importantly, consumers.”

Age matters

Despite the fact that Millennials are coming of age in one of the most difficult economic climates in the past 100 years, they continue to be most willing to pay extra for sustainable offerings—almost three-out-of-four respondents (73%) in the latest findings, up from approximately half in 2014. The rise in the percentage of respondents under 20, also known as Generation Z, who are willing to pay more was equally strong—from 55% of total respondents in 2014 to 72% in 2015.

“Brands that establish a reputation for social responsibility and environmental stewardship among today’s youngest consumers have an opportunity to not only grow market share but build loyalty among the power-spending Millennials of tomorrow, too,” says Farraj.

The environment

When it comes to sales intent, commitment to the environment has the power to sway product purchase for 45% of consumers surveyed. Commitment to either social value or the consumer’s community are also important (each influencing 43% and 41% of respondents, respectively). Retail data backs up the importance of these influencers. In 2014, 65% of total sales of consumer goods measured globally were generated by brands whose marketing conveyed commitment to social and/or environmental value.

“The hierarchy among drivers of consumer loyalty and brand performance is changing,” says Farraj. “Commitment to social and environmental responsibility is surpassing some of the more traditional influences for many consumers. Consumer-goods’ brands that fail to take this into account will likely fall behind.”

TV ads

TV ads highlighting a company’s commitment to positive social and/or environmental impact are influential in the path to purchase for 34% of global respondents. Brands that actively reinforce societal commitment must amplify and socialize their message using multiple sources and distribution channels.

Says Gstalder: “While marketing good deeds is encouraged and expected by consumers, authenticity and credibility are essential. Using multiple communication methods is important to demonstrate good deeds, such as third-party validation (news coverage), annual reports, affiliation with a respected non-profit or civic organization, employee volunteerism, advertising, or reporting actual work in the community on a web site.  A balanced approach is key for brand communicators, with the emphasis on demonstrating good deeds versus self-serving promotion.”

About the global survey

The Nielsen Global Survey of Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability was conducted between Feb. 23-March 13, 2015, and polled more than 30,000 consumers in 60 countries throughout Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, and North America.

Download the full survey results here.

About Nielsen

Nielsen, an S&P 500 company, has operations in over 100 countries that cover more than 90% of the world’s population. For more information, visit www.nielsen.com.

Importance of business innovation

by joshua2 | Media

Business innovation is generating and successfully employing new ideas within your business. This can be in the form of creating and bringing a new product or service to the market, or a series of smaller innovations, for example, finding a more efficient way of working to become more profitable.

Innovation is generally a creative process and many business ideas need significant time, energy or money in order to develop and become commercially viable. Developing a culture of innovation in a business can be vital to its long-term success and profitability.

There are several reasons why the generation of new ideas can be critical to a business’s success. Although every organisation will have its own priorities and specific issues to balance, businesses that fail to innovate may ultimately lose market-share to their competitors, lose key staff, or simply be operating inefficiently. Innovation can often be a key differentiator between market leaders and their rivals.

Innovation can help businesses discover what opportunities exist now, or are likely to emerge in the future. Successful businesses not only respond to their current customer or organisational needs, but often anticipate future trends and develop ideas, products or services that allows them to meet a future demand rapidly and effectively. Innovation will help companies to stay ahead of their competition as markets, technologies or trends shift.

Innovation is not only about developing a new product or service to promote, but it can also look at existing business practices to improve efficiency, develop new customers, reduce waste and increase profit.

Continually improving business practices and seeking to innovate is also likely to help you attract better team members and retain more of your existing staff – something which can be vital to the long-term performance of your business.

Consumers often view innovation as something that adds value to a business or to its services and products. Executed well, innovation can give businesses a commercial advantage – especially in saturated or readily evolving markets. Studies show that consumers may even be willing to pay more for well-designed, novel and innovative product or service offerings, rather than choosing a cheaper, but less interesting rival.

Our new contemporary, award-winning coffin range

by joshua2 | Media

We are delighted to announce that we are launching the Return to Sender™ range of coffins to Australia. Return to Sender are New Zealand’s leading designers and manufacturers of contemporary coffins, catering to the growing number of people looking for less traditional, aesthetically designed coffins with an environmental focus.

Return to Sender’s award-winning coffins are designed to ensure families are able to express what was important to their loved one through their coffin choice. Each coffin is handcrafted with care, from natural materials; made with the environment in mind; and allows for the expression of individuality and values.

What makes Return to Sender different?

Return to Sender believe in using design principles in support of the environment. A family that values beauty, design, creativity, integrity and nature will find a Return to Sender coffin is the perfect departing vessel.

Return to Sender use natural materials as much as possible – water-based colours, natural finishes, wool fleece instead of synthetic fabrics, corn starch and leather in place of plastic. Material use is kept to a minimum and clever design features such as timber locking mechanisms, reduce the need to non-decaying fixings.

Furthermore, Return to Sender coffins are part of our Memorial Tree Program, whereby a native tree is planted on behalf of the family when they choose one of these coffins. This becomes a living legacy of families’ loved ones and helps in our quest to reduce our environmental footprint.

The Wayfarer design coffin

• A lightweight modern coffin design, with a contemporary shape.
• Constructed from laser-cut plywood from sustainably harvested forests.
• Beautiful real leather handles and lid fixings.
• Ultra-lightweight but very strong – a minimal elegant form.
• Part of the Memorial Tree Program.
• Internal dimensions L x W x D (cm): 191 x 56 x 29

Optional extras for the Wayfarer model:

• Australian wool fleece mattress & pillow
• Bamboo blanket
• Nameplate
• Crucifix

Contact us for more information

Return to Sender’s award-winning coffins and accessories are available across Australia exclusively through Ashtons. For more information contact your state Account Manager or call us on 1300 263 346 (1300 COFFIN)

You can download the Return to Sender catalogue from our website’s Resources section.