Unleashing values through brand purpose

A recent study from the Capgemini Research Institute reveals that more than half of consumers expect organisations to showcase their sense of purpose and give back to society – both during the crisis and beyond.

In a world where products are heavily commoditised, consumers are now choosing where to shop based on a brand’s values, not the range of products on offer.

Retail’s renaissance

Retailers are starting to offer new and innovative ways for customers to fulfill their social, economic, and environmental values through new experiences, services, and offers. Customers prefer to purchase products and services from companies that stand for a purpose that reflects their own values and beliefs and will avoid companies that don’t.

In fashion, this could mean sustainable fabrics or brands that champion long-life clothing as opposed to throwaway fast-fashion. In May, Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour said that the fashion industry is having to rethink what fashion stands for and what it should be, including “focussing less on newness and speed”.

In groceries, we see consumers increasingly focusing on sustainability and becoming more cautious when it comes to their health and wellness, with 40% preferring disposable product packaging both today and in the next 6–9 months. 67% said that they will be more cautious about the scarcity of natural resources and 65% said that they will be more mindful about the impact of their overall consumption once the pandemic is over.

French retail group Auchan is looking towards blockchain for food traceability. Customers scan a product with a QR code in the supermarket and the app would show where the product came from, who handled it and how it reached its end destination, so addressing concerns on food safety as well as the carbon footprint of the product.

In these critical times of crisis, consumers look to organisations to step up and showcase a sense of responsibility towards society and community. Coffee and sandwich chain Pret has always had a strong social purpose, tackling poverty, hunger and homelessness. As well as donating unsold food to hostels and charities supporting the homeless, the Pret Foundation has helped get over 450 people off the street and into positions of employment while supporting other charities and projects internationally.

The retail industry has had to adapt to life in lockdown, which has required hard decisions and many short-term solutions. But in the longer-term, a sharper focus on business model innovation may be what is required for many retailers to survive this crisis, reinventing themselves with a new direction and a new sense of purpose.

For many hospitality, travel and service retailers, peer-to-peer sharing – such as ride sharing and apartment sharing – is defining a new economic model with community and individuality at its core. Purpose – a social impact agency recently acquired by Capgemini – worked alongside sharing economy companies to develop the strategy, branding and creative content for Peers, a movement supporting the sharing economy. Within six months, Peers had gained 250,000 members, had peer groups in 90 cities across the globe, earned four policy wins in support of sharing, inspired 70 partners to join the cause and caught the attention of 75 media outlets.

The value of having a purpose

Retailers have an opportunity to harness the power of having a purpose but must adapt and innovate their business models and how they meet customers in order to do so.

New, clear forms of value exchange for customers’ data will enable personalised and relevant experiences for them while being transparent about how the data is processed, maintained, and ultimately destroyed in a way that makes customers feel more in control. In June, the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) created what it calls the “world’s first guide for brands on data ethics”. 74% of CMOs say data ethics will be a vital issue for them to tackle in the coming five years, with the spotlight on data collection and privacy becoming a greater priority because of Covid-19.

Greater supply chain transparency and product attribution will become a ‘right to operate’ instead of a ‘nice to have’, putting pressure on retailers to source and manufacture responsibly, as well as surfacing this information (such as material or product provenance) to customers across channels. Technologies such as AI and data analytics can help to streamline returns from e-commerce channels. For example, Ikea is using AI to predict the best possible destination for returned merchandise. The algorithm currently covers items returned from in-store purchases but can accommodate online returns as well.

Finally, innovative ways of recognising, incentivising and rewarding positive, purposeful behaviour from customers will help to strengthen connections and prove authenticity of actions. When members of the UK’s largest Co-op spend with the brand, 1% of what goes on selected own-brand products and services is used to support local causes through a Local Community Fund, which customers can select based on their location.

More and more, investors are putting their money into businesses with positive track records on environmental, social or governance issues, and research from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) suggests that these investments can also pay off. In their Financial Stability Report, researchers found the performance of “sustainable” funds is comparable to that of conventional equity funds, which is an important indicator for when these types of funds become more mainstream.

Enable your purpose through inventive shopping

The age of mass consumption fuelled by retail is coming to an end as we enter an age of purposeful consumption. Customers who once chose retailers based on product and price alone are now choosing who to shop with based on their values and how retailers support and enable these values.

Capgemini can bring together a multitude of disciplines and experiences from across the group as part of our ’inventive shopping’ approach. By leveraging our tools, methodologies, and accelerators, we can help to evaluate and reshape the vision and transformation plans for retailers in light of Covid-19 and broader retail macro trends, to define a new strategic north star and the future retail platform roadmap to get there.

Christopher Baird is senior manager at Capgemini.