(WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — As last minute shoppers scour the web for presents, a new study says that more than half of Christmas shoppers now look for environmental credentials when choosing online retailers, and one in four consumers expect retailers to use eco-friendly services across their operation as well as recycling and reducing physical waste.
According to the new “Greener Shopping Survey” released by web host 1&1 (www.1and1.co.uk), 59 percent of the 1,500 consumers polled said they are more likely to buy a product from a retailer using eco-friendly practices such as recycling and using renewable energy. Consumers even place the same importance on the use of renewable electricity to power their website as using less polluting vehicles. The survey also revealed that 37 percent of Britons now expect online retailers to be reducing their environmental impact to the same degree as the brick-and-mortar shops on High Street.
Whilst many supermarkets and high-street stores loudly champion their eco-friendly policies, it would appear that consumers now have equivalent expectations for the online retailers they use.
Most Christmas shoppers consider the environment impact of their purchases not only in physical stores, but also online. And those who loudly champion their eco-friendly policies are poised to benefit. Nearly three quarters of those polled (72 percent) believe that online retailers have a responsibility to be green, 37 percent expect them to tackle the issue to the same degree as offline stores, and one in five say they are more likely to buy from a retailer that clearly explains its carbon usage online.
“As more of us think about our personal impact on the environment, there has been a surge in demand for greener practices in retail,” 1&1 Internet chief executive officer Oliver Mauss said in a statement. “A significant proportion of British consumers now expect all types of retailer to power their operations with renewable energy, and for online stores that should start with their website.”
Some of the other interesting findings of the survey included the demand for greener retailers varying with gender and location. According to the survey, 46 per of women are likely to buy from a retailer that uses recycled packaging compared to 36 percent of men. Londoners are most influenced by eco-friendly practices, with 70 percent committed to buying green; and residents of Yorkshire, of whom only 49 percent are compelled to buy green, are by far the least.
