More and more people are paying attention to an ecologically sustainable lifestyle. According to a survey* by Trusted Shops, 92 per cent of online retailers consider sustainability in e-commerce to be important. However, when it comes to returns, 39 per cent stated that they do not make their online business more sustainable.
Most customers already avoid plastic bags and extra packaging when shopping in shops. However, online shopping is also increasingly focussing on ecological and social sustainability aspects. One YouGov survey by Trusted Shops from the year 2019 revealed that 60 per cent of Germans attach importance to Sustainable shopping on the Internet. This attitude can also be seen on the part of online shop operators: Over 90 per cent recognise the importance of the topic.
However, a comparison of the various areas of online retail reveals significant differences in the activities realised:
In terms of packaging, the willingness of shop operators is high: only 9 per cent of online retailers state that they do not organise their packaging systems sustainably. Most sellers reuse packaging in good condition from returns or use less material by optimising packaging sizes. When selecting packaging materials, only 11 per cent Sustainability aspects disregarded. The majority avoid plastic in their packaging or use recycled materials.
The areas of renewable energies and handling returns bring up the rear: 43 per cent of shop operators neither use green hosters nor do they obtain electricity from wind energy and the like. even not consciously is. The situation is even worse in the area of returns: Half of all online retailers stated that they do not have a sustainable approach in this regard. However, the majority of respondents replied that they hardly ever receive returns anyway.
At the end of 2019, the debate about fees for returns once again triggered a discussion about sustainable behaviour in online retail. This high level of interest in the topic among end customers shows that the Communication of existing sustainability activities can be a real advantage for an online shop. It is therefore all the more astonishing that, according to the survey almost half of online retailers (44 per cent) do not communicate their own commitment to the customer. If a shop provides information about its own activities, it usually does so via its own website (33 per cent) or social media (28 per cent).
*The data used is based on an online survey conducted with surveymonkey, in which 880 people took part between 2 September 2019 and 15 December 2019.
Source: Trusted Shops
