Ethics Newsline®

From Deloitte:

“The environment is increasingly on consumers’ radar screens, according to the 22nd Annual Holiday Survey of retail spending and trends, commissioned by Deloitte.

“The survey reports that almost one in five consumers (18 percent) will purchase more ‘eco-friendly’ products this holiday season than in the past, and a similar number (17 percent) will shop at more ‘green’ retailers.

“Additionally, almost one-third of consumers (27 percent) surveyed will use fewer plastic bags from supermarkets and other stores this holiday season, and one in five (20 percent) will consider not wrapping holiday gifts to conserve paper. Surprisingly, these responses concerning the environment and holiday shopping intentions were consistent across gender, age and income groups.

” ‘Most importantly, a significant number of people — 17 percent — are willing to pay more for ‘green’ gifts or supplies, which tells us that this issue is on shoppers’ minds this year and is becoming more central to consumers’ purchasing decisions,’ said Stacy Janiak, Deloitte’s U.S. Retail Leader.

” ‘Savvy retailers are taking concrete steps to become more environmentally friendly, and are incorporating this sensibility into their operations, as well as their customer communications. At the same time, they should be cautious about promoting their eco-initiatives too early, before they’ve made real progress, due to the potential for consumer backlash.’

“How this environmentalism will translate into gift purchases remains to be seen. In the survey, clothing continued its four-year run as the second most popular gift category (gift cards have been #1 for four years)….

“Almost two-thirds of consumers (63 percent) say they enjoy the experience and spirit of the holidays; however, a similar amount (61 percent) say they avoid holiday shopping crowds — an increase from the 56 percent that said this in 2006.

“Consumers said that over-commercialization, rude people/bad manners and crowded stores are the aspects of holiday shopping that they find most frustrating; surprisingly, younger age groups were most likely to cite these frustrations.

” ‘These findings may help explain why American consumers continue to turn to the Internet in droves,’ said Janiak.”…