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This September, Sainsbury’s will take its price comparisons war with rival supermarket Tesco to the High Court. The latest spat centres on Tesco’s Price Promise campaign, which compares the cost of its branded, own-label and fresh food against the same or equivalent products from Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons.
A useful mechanism for the budget-driven consumer one might say. However, Sainsbury’s argues that Tesco is comparing “apples with pears by failing to take into account product attributes such as relative quality, provenance and ethics”. In the forthcoming judicial review the company will use examples such as its own-brand egg, which it says are pricier than Tesco Everyday Value eggs because they are sourced from non-caged hens and therefore incomparable.
Aside from good advertising standards, the squabble begs an interesting question: Do consumers place a higher value on items that are produced in an ethical and sustainable way? Sainsbury’s court action, and its ‘value for values’ campaign, suggests that the retailer believes (or at least hopes) customers do care about where their purchases come from.
This may not be the case. A survey conducted by Accenture and Havas Media RE:PURPOSE found that only 32% of consumers say they ‘often’ or ‘always’ consider sustainability in their purchasing decisions and less than a quarter seek information about the sustainability of the brands they buy from.
Consumers are faced with 460 eco-labels across 25 industry categories but with a lack of interest in sustainability, could this sea of labels make shoppers switch off completely? Research from academics, Lucy Atkinson and Sonny Rosenthal, suggests that consumers care about the source of the label and prefer greater detail to be included, rather than just simple icons. However, there is a huge gap between what people say and what they do. Knowledge, cost and availability can all prevent consumers from behaving ethically.
Get involved
On Thursday 4 September, 12.30 - 2pm (BST) we are hosting a live chat on this topic and would like you to join our panel of experts in the comments section below. To participate, you can send us your thoughts and questions beforehand in the comments below, tweet us at @GuardianSustBiz or email your question to jenny.purt@theguardian.com. Areas to be discussed will include:
• Is there evidence that consumers place a higher value on sustainable supply chains and does this vary across product category?
• What factors influence consumer choice?
• Do labels and product design play a role in changing consumer behaviour?
• What can brands do to persuade consumers to make more ethical decisions when shopping?
Panel
Barbara Crowther, director of policy and public affairs at Fairtrade Foundation
Lucy Atkinson, assistant professor in the department of advertising and public relations at the University of Texas at Austin
Simon Oxley, packaging technologist - food at Marks and Spencer
James Cashmore, founding partner, Envero
Rachel Kibbe, CEO & founder, HELPSY
Marci Zaroff, founder and president of Under the Canopy
John Steel, CEO, Cafedirect
The supply chain hub is sponsored by the Fairtrade Foundation. All content is editorially independent except for pieces labelled advertisement feature. Find out more here.
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