Millennials are embracing peer-to-peer transactions, but 85% would like brands to give seal of approval on resold products
Users of peer-to-peer transactions and crowdfunding are growing, research from Havas Worldwide has found, with more than a third already belonging to a sharing service or expecting to join one within the next year.
The prosumer report by Havas, entitled The New Consumer and the Sharing Economy, surveyed 10,574 people around the globe to discover the emergence of a new wave of consumerism that rejects excess in favour of a more mindful approach.
It was discovered that 91 per cent of ‘prosumers’ – described by Havas as today’s leading influencers and market drivers – admire companies that help consumers to waste less.
The research also noted that 89 per cent of prosumers admire brands that encourage consumers to recycle
“For a number of years, we’ve tracked the shift away from wasteful spending and toward a more mindful approach to consumption, but what we’re seeing now is much more proactive and hands-on,” said Andrew Benett, global CEO of Havas Worldwide and chief strategy officer of Havas Creative Group.
“People aren’t just choosing Brand A over Brand B because it’s produced closer to home or treats its workers better. They're getting involved in the consumption cycle by contributing to the funding or even the creation of products they want and by reselling or renting out their unneeded possessions. They're creating new formats for the exchange of goods. And every step of the way, they are practicing ‘less is more,’ and savoring their ‘less.’”
Havas discovered that 85 per cent of prosumers would like brands to guarantee the quality and authenticity of products people resell on the internet, while 71 per cent said that they would feel more protected if a company or website served as an intermediary for sales.
The reported predicted: “As more individuals get into the game, we’ll see new “seals of approval” and rating systems spring up, much as eBay and Amazon Marketplace have used customer feedback as a marker of trust. A transaction could be “guaranteed by Google” or given the “Sony Seal of Approval,” offering that extra layer of assurance consumers crave.”
Consumers want to know that brands stand behind not only their products, but also the notion of extended (multi-owner/user) product lifecycles.
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Havas SA is a French multinational advertising and public relations company, headquartered in Paris, France. Havas operates in more than 100 countries.
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