01 Jun 2007


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Global sustainability is now key, says IGD

By Fiona Briggs

Sustainability and ethical shopping has emerged as the number one theme in the food and drink industry, according to the IGD.
Opening the industry think tank's eighth Global Retailing Conference, IGD chief executive, Joanne Denney-Finch, told delegates: “Shopper attitudes are changing at an unprecedented rate. They are smarter, more suspicious and more difficult to please across many aspects. To earn their loyalty you have to get things right. It's a very tough message but unless you add new skills to your repertoire, and very quickly, you could find yourselves obsolete.”
Denney-Finch said sustainability had overtaken price and healthy eating as the top trend with topics such as food miles and carbon footprints now apparent in the media every day.
“Shoppers are becoming less inward looking and more outward looking and much more well informed thanks to technology and new channels,” she added.
As a result, customers have more time to think about the impact of their purchasing decisions.
And they are buying more ethical products. IGD figures show sales of ethical lines growing at 7.5% versus 4.2% for conventional products.
And, it's a worldwide trend, said Denney-Finch, who highlighted several overseas retailers who were doing things differently.
They include a Polish discounter, Biedronka, which the IGD has dubbed a “discounter with soul” due to its focus on high quality and locally sourced products and its socially responsible approach to staff and suppliers.
Another retailer to watch is Australia's Macro Wholefoods Market. According to the IGD, it understands the story behind every product – where it's come from and how it's been produced. It also takes customers on personalised store tours and is experimenting with complimentary services such as yoga, pilates and homeopathy.
Denney-Finch said that for the first time ethical reputation has overtaken quality as the lead component of a successful brand with 68% considering it the most important attribute.
“Ethical business is becoming mainstream and if you are not prepared you have a got a lot of thinking and catching up to do,” she said.

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