According to a recent report by ParcelLab, which reviewed 50 of the top Direct-to-Customer (DTC) brands on the market, over 67% of consumers care about sustainability. Brands like Warby Parker, Grove Collaborative, Parachute, and Reformation are delivering on their commitments to customers by building sustainability into their brand experience.
Here are some key figures from this report:
- 68% of brands used cardboard for shipping versus 32% still using plastic.
- 6% of brands included sustainability messaging in their shipping notifications.
- 54% of brands promoted paperless returns.
- 100% of brands used packaging that was reusable for the return.
- 6% of brands offer a carbon-neutral delivery option which means 94% of brands are missing out on this key opportunity to offer shoppers the potential to offset the carbon emissions of their delivery.
- 4% of brands offer an option to choose less packaging, which means 96% of brands are missing out on this key opportunity to make deliveries lighter and reduce packaging waste.
- 22% of brands included sustainability messaging on their packaging versus 78% that do not.
- 52% of brands used plastic packaging for their products versus 48% that do not.
Leveraging operational data is also key to outperforming the competition and impressing customers. It’s important to utilize an in-store tracking page and include engaging content on sustainability commitments. Linking to FAQs and customer chatbots to help with specific questions can help reduce customer inquiries by 25%.
Another crucial factor is transactional emails relating to a customer’s order. 64% of consumers say transactional emails are the most important communications they receive from a brand. Including a link to an in-store tracking page, can bring back up to 85% of customers to an online store. Engage customers with personalized, relevant content, including sustainability commitments and goals.
And don’t forget about the packaging! This is the first time a brand will make physical contact with a customer, so use this moment to encourage recycling and provide instructions for the best way to dispose of the packaging. This will also help reinforce a brand’s sustainability commitment.
