80% of Dutch shoppers prefer eco-friendly products

Opportunity for retailers to help shoppers make more sustainable choices

Dutch shoppers are increasingly aware of the impact of their orders on the environment and society. For example, 80% prefer environmentally friendly products and 87% are more inclined to buy a product with reusable packaging. This is according to figures from the Unified Commerce Benchmark for Specialty Retail, conducted by Incisiv on behalf of Manhattan Associates, Google Cloud and Zebra Technologies. Retailers can respond by helping shoppers choose more sustainable products and make more sustainable choices before and after they order.

Encourage shoppers to select sustainable products
Retailers can differentiate themselves by communicating about their own sustainability initiatives and being transparent about which products are sustainable and which are not. 70% of the Dutch retailers surveyed say they publish about sustainability initiatives and ESG practices. 80% also feel they communicate better about the origin of products. An improvement opportunity for retailers lies in placing a filter in their web shops so that shoppers can proactively choose sustainable products: only 23% now offer this advanced filtering option.

Help shoppers choose the most sustainable delivery option

In addition, shoppers can also make more sustainable choices if web shops point out the most sustainable delivery option. For example, by showing the carbon footprint per delivery method, which only 10% of retailers currently do.

Shoppers can also make more sustainable choices if retailers offer flexible delivery options and allow them to decide where to receive their order. Not all retailers yet give shoppers the option of picking up orders at a pickup point (70%) or in-store (60%) in addition to home delivery, let alone allowing shoppers to choose split delivery (10%) within the same order.

Offer shoppers the ability to cancel or change orders

Many retailers keep shoppers informed about the status of their order after placing it (80%), some also through their own website or app (65%). But only one in three retailers offer shoppers the ability to change or cancel an order after it has been placed. And that while 83% of Dutch shoppers would like to have these self-service options. If shoppers can change or cancel an order, retailers can prevent unnecessary orders and returns, with a positive impact on the environment.

Pieter Van den Broecke, managing director of Manhattan Associates of the Netherlands and Belgium, among others: "There is a growing need among shoppers to buy sustainable products. Dutch retailers are already responding well to this by communicating the origin of products, among other things. But there is also plenty to gain in meeting shoppers' high expectations. If retailers make sustainable products easier to find in their web shops, that is both a commercially smart and environmentally friendly improvement. Furthermore, anno 2024, it is essential that retailers also have real-time visibility into where products are in their supply chain and what their current stock is. To help shoppers 24/7 to choose the most sustainable delivery option - whether at home, at a pickup point or in store. But also to make it possible to cancel an order at the last minute, saving on packaging materials and transportation, resulting in a positive impact on the environment."

Download the full report here