Insights
8 Ways to Stay Competitive During the Cost and Climate Crisis.
What will our world look like in 5 or 10 years?
We’re tackling it all at the moment, the cost of living crisis, the climate crisis, the housing crisis, a political crisis…basically all the crises.
BUT WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR YOUR BRAND?
Survey research shows 94% of consumers want to shop with brands that offer sustainable options however this is not shown in their purchasing behaviour. Your consumers are tackling what we have called ‘The Consumer Conflict’
Why? We can give you two reasons…price and options. Only a number of brands such as The Vegan Kind, Zara Preowned, IKEA and Toyota, have been able to cater correctly to this conflict consumers are facing.
Find out what brands have done to successfully cater to this problem.
SO HOW CAN YOU GIVE YOUR CUSTOMERS WHAT THEY WANT?
Well ultimately as a brand you need to provide consumers with a deal they can’t say no to! The answer…catering to this new consumer demand group of those who care about both cost and climate.
Here are 8 things you can do, with some brand example examples….
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Create a sustainable subscription service so your customers can save the planet whilst saving their costs.
Oddbox: is a fruit and veg subscription company that reduces waste by using farm fresh foods that would go to waste. Oddbox’s business model is able to encourage sustainable eating, reduce food and water waste, whilst also providing sustainable packaging and delivery services for their customers.
2. Give your customers multiple payment options that allow them to spread their costs
Klarna: The economic crisis has seen consumers favour payment options that allow them to spread the cost. Starcount data revealed Klarna saw a whopping 146% growth just in the last year!
3. Shared ownership: think about introducing renting and second-hand purchase schemes into your business model.
Zara Preowned: A sustainable circular cycle that allows Zara customers to get the most out of their clothing by selling, repairing or donating their Zara owned clothes. Giving their customers the ability to get some financial gain or get longer use out of their clothing.
4. Be one of the first in your industry to Implement a circular business model
IKEA Circular Hub: This business model sees consumers taking back their old IKEA purchases to IKEA’s circular hub for vouchers, which they can use to purchase more IKEA products.
5. Use gamification to support your consumers’ sustainable initiatives.
Toyota: has found a way to give their consumers an interactive and fun way of visualising how much they are contributing to saving the planet. By gamifying sustainable initiatives, they have been able to push consumers into always doing better than their previous performance.
6. Help your customers escape the realities of life with an escapism experience
Louis Vuitton: Luxury brand Louis Vuitton produced an adventure game in the metaverse to pay homage to its founder and history, allowing players to win one of 30 exclusive NFTs.
7. More loyalty schemes mean more repeat purchases
Tesco Clubcard: With the help of Starcounts original founders Clive Humby OBE and Edwina Dunn OBE, Tesco’s well known loyalty card was born. Over 20 million households now have a Tesco Clubcard and are able to benefit from points and exclusive Clubcard prices on many items.
8. Make sure you have seamless digital touch points throughout your consumers’ customer journey
Burberry: With the launching of their “virtual stores”, Burberry have created an unforgettable customer experience for their consumers. From 1-to-1 personal attention from virtual sales associates to AR tools that allow shoppers to visualise products in their own environments. The digital journey is endless.
For examples of how you can implement these strategies, download our Whitepaper ‘The Consumer Conflict’
Or
find out what we can do for you, get in contact team@starcount.com