The Rise of Sustainable E-commerce

Written By Finn Gedge Gibb

Whether Environmental Sustainability was always at the core of your business development,

 

Or it’s something you are now considering implementing as you grow,

 

There are many ways sharpening up your credentials will benefit your online store. Particularly among millennials!

 

Not only can it help drive greater brand loyalty,

 

You also get to feel good about doing your bit to make our planet a better place!

 

Here at Būshy, our ethos is 'Conscious Capitalism’.

 

In essence:

 

Make more - give more.

 

The reality: consumerism has hit all-time highs and will likely only continue.

 

Especially as right now, only about 19% of the world currently shops online...

 

With that, our ability to “turn a blind eye” to the destruction and devastation will only grow harder.

 

The good news.

 

There are many areas you can start to improve within your eCommerce business.

 

Some brands are capitalising on consumer demand by selling sustainably made products.

 

But this isn’t the only way you can turn your business into a value-led eCommerce brand.

 

You can also look at other aspects such as:

 

- Production

- Packaging

- Delivery

- Relationships & People

- Social Causes & Impact Initiatives

 

In essence, every aspect of your business can likely be made more ethical and sustainable.

 

But beware: your positive impact will be limited if you keep the facts to yourself.

 

You can grow your positive impact in the world by sharing regular updates with customers.

 

Regardless of what you sell, you have an opportunity to make a positive impact through your brand.

 

Ask yourself:

 

- How are materials sourced? Could they be less impactful?

 

- Who you are employing? How you are treating them?

 

- How do you package your products? Could excess be removed?

 

- How do you ship your products? Is there a better provider?

 

- Do you offset your carbon footprint in any way?

 

- Do you support a charity or organisation?

 

- Do you share what's good with customers? How about what you're planning to do to improve?

 

- Do you share tips that help your customers use your products more responsibly?

 

The list goes on and on.

 

So, what are consumers on the lookout for?

 

Shipping:

 

Offering a choice of environmentally friendly shipping is a high-impact move. Be careful not to impact the price too much, however.

  • It’s important to find a balance between conscious and affordable.

  • There is a mentality that more eco-friendly options cost more. We need to win over environmental conscious consumers that are cost-cautious.

  • When starting out, it's helpful to offer both regular shipping and a premium offset option. Don't force your customers to pay more for eco-friendly delivery as standard.

  • Everyone is competing with amazon primes delivery promise. You don’t have to be an environmentalist to know that next-day delivery does actually cost the Earth. Highlight this.

  • Our tip: use shipping as an opportunity to educate your customer and find common ground in the effort for the planet.

  • Conscious consumers will appreciate the attention you have paid to this and buy into your strategy.

Packaging:

  • You want to make sure that you are using packaging that can either be composted or recycled.

  • You may also want to consider using already recycled materials. 

  • Another key aspect is reducing waste packaging.

  • Make sure you are using adequate packaging materials to transport your products. However, don’t go overboard.

  • If one thing annoys a conscious consumer, it’s excessive packaging.

  • Be considerate about the materials your packaging is made with.

  • To go one step further, choose a packaging solution that can be repurposed by the consumer. Create an unforgettable unboxing experience and increase your audience’s brand loyalty.

Reducing Returns:

  • Ensure product descriptions and photos are clear and descriptive will reduce returned items.

  • Include “in-use” photos or small videos to help display scale and usability of the item.

  • Share as much in the journey as you can to avoid any disappointment when the consumer receives your product.

  • By improving your descriptions to make them easier to understand and relevant, you can also boost your SEO.

  • Include reviews from other customers in post-purchase email flows to reduce buyers remorse

If we work together we can reduce waste, transport costs, emissions and divert consumer spending into more conscious avenues.

 

Instead of being a burden, e-com could offer huge economic and environmental benefits to us all.

 

We just need to work together to put in place core changes and adopt an earth-first approach to businesses.

Resource: https://blog.getbyrd.com/en/rise-of-sustainable-ecommerce

Finn Gedge Gibb