The Retailer Spring Edition 2021

THE RE TA I L ER

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CREATING CONNECTIONS WITH CONSUMERS

Rhian Woods Partner PwC

Tom Adams Partner PwC

M arketing your responsible side: a differentiator for consumers Marketing has always had a critical role in attracting and retaining customers, building brand and shaping product and service prop - ositions. Shifts in consumer behaviour and expectations are now influencing not just what marketing does to growyour business, but how it does it to growresponsibly. Being responsible is increasingly a differentiator in aworld of endless choice, transparency and consumer influence. The rise of the conscientious consumer The rise of ethical consumerism over the last two decades has been matched by the development of ethical products and brands - in everything from food to fashion - where purpose, values and consideration for the environment and broader societal needs are increasingly drivers of choice. This growth of ‘responsible’ brands that align with con - sumer values is likely to become even more mainstream according to PwC’s recent Global Consumer Insights Survey, which shows the rise of the ‘conscientious consumer’ : a cohort of shop - pers created during the pandemic who have changed their behaviour due to heightened health and safety concerns.

These findings are mirrored in a recent PwC Research QuantiBus survey of 1,000 shoppers, where 86% said it is ‘quite important or very important’ to purchase from a retailer with strong company values and who is committed to doing the right thing. Almost one in four consumers now rank a company’s values and ethics commitment to doing the right thing above price and qualitywhen making purchase decisions. As noteworthy, 75% of shoppers see a company’s values as ‘quite important or very important’ in influencing any decision to share additional personal data. This new group is willing to pay more for healthier, local and environmentally friendly options. It’s a trend we first highlighted back in May 2020, and one that continues to grow according to our latest Consumer Sentiment Survey. Their conscientiousness now extends to the environment and society at large, and their behaviours are unlikely to revert, even after safety concerns brought about by COVID-19 subside. While being responsible or conscientious means different things to different brands, it must be much more than a positioning statement, compliance with accepted standards such as GDPR or supporting vulnerable or protected customers. Upholding these principles is of utmost importance, but a minimum requirement for a brand’s credibility.

In a sector where shoppers no longer have to balance trade-offs between convenience, price, ethics and quality, responsibility is increasingly central to the value exchange between retailer and consumer, particularly when it comes to the use of data and personalisation. Marketing for responsible growth Retail marketing has historically been geared around using customer data to understand buying behaviours to improve performance:,of - ten to promote more products at a higher value to more customers. For many retailers, that process might have included mining a wealth of transactional, footfall and customer engage - ment data to informproduct promotion, pricing, display and merchandising that meets sales targets. While a degree of personalisation may provide more relevance, it isn’t necessarily always visible, obvious or what the customer wants. Marketing for responsible growth is about turning that on its head and using data in the customer’s best interests. While it must still include more ethical, transparent and thought - ful targeting, as well as appropriate use of data, to be truly distinctive means much more than that.