Australian consumers are more likely to buy from companies that support charities

“Charities are no longer just the caring sector, but a powerful ally to help companies meet consumer demand.”

As Australia emerges out of lockdown and businesses begin the slow process of opening up, something has changed in the consumer psyche. 

According to new research, Australian consumers have become more concerned about social and environmental issues and aren’t afraid to use their purchasing power to drive change. 

The Conscious Consumer Report 2021 was released last week and discovered that 62 per cent of Australians surveyed say they have reevaluated their priorities in life during the pandemic, and want to buy their products and services from companies doing some good.  

Hailey Cavill-Jaspers, who authored the report, said that over the past couple of years Australians have embraced change and don’t want to return to the old way of doing things. 

“They’ve realised they have immense power to catalyse social reform by leveraging their ‘skill’, [so] working for companies that align to their values; their ‘wallet’ [which means] purchasing products that do good and boycotting those that do harm; and through asserting their ‘voice’ on social media,” Cavill-Jaspers said. 

The report, commissioned by Cavill + Co and researched by Di Marzio Research and BePartnerReady.com, revealed that just under two-thirds of Australians believe that corporate Australia has the potential to solve societal problems. 

Almost three-quarters of those spoken to said they felt that when a company claims to be making an impact in a particular area, it’s more genuine if they’ve partnered with a charity to deliver tangible results. 

“As companies look to rebuild their business, there’s a sure-fire way to kick start recovery – and that’s to give consumers and customers what they want. Not just their practical needs, but resonate with their values and meet their moral needs,” Cavill-Jaspers said. 

“Therein lies an opportunity for not for profits that would benefit from having a corporate partner in their corner. 

“Charities are no longer just the caring sector, but a powerful ally to help companies meet consumer demand. That’s an exciting shift in perspective, and represents an enormous opportunity for growth in cross-sector collaboration and in particular, corporate-cause partnerships.”

Consumers using their purchasing power to speak to their values is a behaviour being seen all over the world, with numerous trend reports from PWC, Mintel, Globescan and Accenture confirming that it’s a growing movement. 

In the UK, 20 per cent of consumers say they shop with a retailer that supports a cause they believe in and in Brazil, 47 per cent of consumers agree they’re prepared to boycott companies who behave unethically. 

A Globescan 2021 study revealed that 53 per cent of global consumers said they’ve changed their purchase to support a cause, and a global study by Accenture found that half of Gen Y (born between 1980 – 1994) and Gen Z (born between 1995 – 2009) say they’ve shifted a portion of their spending away from a company that’s disappointed them around a social issue.

The Conscious Consumer report also found: 

• over two-thirds of Australian consumers believe that corporates only care about profit and will do anything to get it;
• three-quarters of Australian consumers agree it’s time corporate Australia stepped up and showed leadership in solving social issues;
• just under two-thirds believe that corporate Australia has the greatest potential to solve societal problems;
• over a third have actively boycotted a company or brand in the past year due to its poor social responsibility;
• over one quarter have actively switched brands, because of their support of charity in the past year;
• over half say they will switch to brands that support a charity in the coming year; and
• the top six causes that prompt consumers to switch brands are climate change (23 per cent), mental health (20 per cent), healthcare and medical research (19 per cent), environmental conservation (18 per cent), support and care for vulnerable people (17 per cent) and animal rescue/care (17 per cent). 

You can read the full report here