Analysts and in-store tech providers, Retail Insight, have released data that shows shoppers are nowadays more concerned with reducing food waste than other perhaps more well-known environmental initiatives, such as recycling.
In an age where price sensitivity and tight budgets are ruling shoppers’ spending habits, the survey of over 1,000 UK shoppers revealed that 70% believe rather than addressing more mainstream sustainability efforts, retailers should focus their environmental, social and governance (ESG) efforts on food waste reduction.
ESG is a framework used to assess a company’s impact on society and the environment, focusing on its sustainable and ethical practices. Essentially, it’s a set of criteria used to evaluate a company’s performance beyond traditional financial metrics.
Also in the survey results, a further 70% of respondents said they felt currently there wasn’t enough focus on food waste reduction in retailers’ sustainability goals, a figure that rises to 74% for Gen Z and Millennial consumers.
In addition, three quarters (74%) of shoppers polled by said they were actively trying to cut down their food bills, with 38% now only buying reduced-price groceries and markdowns, rising to 55% of Millennials - underscoring the role such discounts can play in making household budgets work harder.
“Markdowns are hugely important in reducing food waste whilst maintaining healthy levels of profitability.”
Paul Boyle, CEO of Retail Insight, said: “Markdowns aren’t just a tool for clearing inventory, they’re also hugely important in reducing food waste whilst maintaining healthy levels of profitability.
“However, they remain an overlooked opportunity, with many retailers choosing to do nothing or simply relying on basic predefined values, usually set at 25%, 50%, or 75%. This leads to poorly timed, over-discounted markdowns, often taking no account of the volume to clear, that eat into margin and don’t then generate the sell-through needed to shift the stock.”
For more information on the survey, click here
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