The research will be further analysed and shared in a breakfast briefing webinar – ‘Sustainability and the Scottish Consumer’ – hosted by SWA and presented by Sarah Coleman, Director of Communications at TWC, on Tuesday 13 September, 9:00-9:30am. Registration can be made here: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/9XFYCYM
The TWC Trends research was conducted in June 2022 and showed that 63% of Scottish consumers agreed that retailers who don’t take sustainability or environmental issues seriously are likely to lose out in the future. This was higher than the figure for the total UK, at 54%.
Interestingly, 27% of Scottish consumers agreed that environmental and sustainability issues are influencing where they shop for groceries – but this represents a significant drop vs. TWC Trends Autumn 2021, at which time 38% of Scots agreed.
It appears that there is a high expectation that irrespective of their own actions, consumers expect businesses to be focused on sustainability – with 63% of Scottish consumers agreeing that all companies should be focussed on their environmental impact.
The bottom line, particularly during the current cost-of-living crisis, is that many consumers are unwilling – or unable – to pay extra for sustainability benefits. Half of the consumers surveyed agreed that they want to make sustainable choices, but they are not willing to pay extra for this benefit.