Changemaker Consumers: 2023 Trends All Brands Need to Know

It’s no secret that customers are feeling a mounting sense of social responsibility. The ‘socially conscious consumer’ trend is becoming less niche and beginning to span all generations and demographics. 

Australians are looking to companies to not only rethink their environmental and social impact but to actively be a ‘force for good’.

This is more than just a wish or a hope. Consumers are shopping more intentionally and making choices that align with their ethics. The bond between a consumer’s wallet and their values is growing stronger. They will not shop from businesses they believe are doing harm.

What customers REALLY care about

Almost 9 in 10 Australians believe that brands need to be actively engaging in doing good.1 But what does ‘doing good’ actually mean?

Recent research shows that consumers not only want you to give to charity but to address the following issues:

• Pay employees and suppliers fairly
• Eliminate corruption and pay appropriate taxes
• No exploitation in production
• Reduce environmental impact
• Increase diversity, equality and inclusion2

There is low tolerance on these issues and customers are willing to walk away from businesses who fail to meet these expectations.

Boycotting and spending power

Cancel culture is one of the major growing trends in consumer behaviour. With social media and increased access to information, a lot of noise can be generated in response to a business behaving badly.

Over 1 in 3 Australians say they have boycotted a brand because of poor social responsibility. This number rises to almost half amongst Millennials and Gen Z.3

Online shopping provides consumers with more options and so they can be picky about who they support and where their money goes. Boycotting has become a mainstream reaction and can’t be ignored.

Doing good as a ‘business lever’

If you’re a business owner, the rising pressure to be socially responsible might feel overwhelming, but it also presents an opportunity.

As the 2022 What Good is Doing Good? report said: “Rather than a cost or nice-to-have, brands should view doing good as an investment in stoking demand. With its potential to deliver uplifts across the marketing funnel, create customer advocates and justify price premiums, doing good is increasingly a valuable business lever.”4

It is a chance to stand out from the pack and attract new and loyal customers. 

However, integrating corporate social responsibility (CSR) into your company can be a lengthy and expensive process. Where do you start? How do you get everyone on board?

A simple way to make a change is signing up to Doing Good Rewards. Depending on your business, there are two ways you could do this:

• Become a Doing Good Rewards Merchant

Whether you’re B2C or B2B, you can sign up as a Doing Good Rewards Merchant and help raise money for charity while appealing to our database of millions of socially conscious consumers.

• Create Your Own Doing Good Program

Similar to a loyalty program, this allows you to offer your customers, members, staff (basically anyone in your community) special access to shopping discounts to raise money for charity. It’s perfect for any group of people who want to make a collective impact.

If you’re not sure which one is right for you, why not get in touch and we can explain the options? We make giving as easy as possible. Find out how.

Sources:

1. Leo Burnett Australia, 2022, HumanKind Intelligence Report: What Good is Doing Good?
2. Leo Burnett Australia, 2022, HumanKind Intelligence Report: What Good is Doing Good?
3. BePartnerReady.com, 2021, The Conscious Consumer Report
4. Leo Burnett Australia, 2022, HumanKind Intelligence Report: What Good is Doing Good?

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