Consumer Shopping Habits for Wellness and Environmentally ...

fact, probing conversations with consumers often result in nominal guesses such as ―Well, I suppose
they could recycle paper in their home office, wherever that is.‖
That being said, much of the impression that consumers gather about a store relative to issues of
sustainability issues relates directly to items on the shelf – if a store carries products that appear
better for the environment (or, less-directly, simply ―healthier‖), then, at least in a vague sense, then
the store seems like it is being ―responsible.‖ For instance, stores that carry a full (and visible)
selection of natural home cleaners will be thought of as ―better‖ in an environmental sense by
consumers than stores that carry only conventional brands. Product selection is one reason why
specialty retailers consistently deliver superior sustainability or responsibility impressions to
consumers. Rolling out more natural products in the key categories we outline for each retail channel
is perhaps the most immediately effective, sustainability-related step retailers could take. In addition,
playing up specific category decision criteria that relate to sustainability or responsibility in displays
and/or promotions may be quite helpful, e.g. ―not animal tested‖ for certain personal care products.
Labor issues also arise frequently. Many consumers move discussion toward ―happy employees‖
when sustainability issues are brought into a conversation (usually by researchers, not consumers) –
in some sense, consumers assume that if store employees seem pleasant, that they are being
treated well, and that the store is ―nice‖ in other respects as well, e.g. is ―nice,‖ or, rather,
responsible, when it comes to caring about the environment.
Store environment also impacts how consumers perceive sustainability. In many ways, the less
―traditional‖ a store appears, and the more contemporary and ―high quality‖ a store looks, the more
sustainable it seems. For instance, consumers are generally unlikely to rate a conventional mass
retailer with bright lighting and high, utilitarian metal shelving as particularly sustainable or
responsible; such a setting seems like ―retail‘s past,‖ recalling an era that came before the current
one and its ―green‖ emphasis. Conversely, stores with contemporary lighting, flooring, shelving, et
cetera appear ―with it‖ and up-to-date, and presumably participating in this new era of
sustainability/responsibility. While this sounds terribly superficial, we find that such appearances
consistently produce better sustainability impressions (in addition to better H+W and overall quality
impressions).
Health Services or Learning Features?
In-store health services and learning features stand apart from one another to some degree.
Where there is a strong presence of one, typically the other has a weak presence. To be certain, it
would seem odd to find a flu shot booth in proximity to specialist store employees explaining the
virtues of all-natural skincare regimes. Unsurprisingly, consumer opinions of the appropriateness
and desirability of health services and learning features are highly dependent on the type of retailer.
For the most part, there is a continuum between the two, summarized in the diagram below. At the
left of the diagram, we see the channels where services are most desirable, and at the right, where
learning is most desirable. Mainstream grocery stores, appearing in the middle of the chart, are
faced with a balancing act.
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