57% of Spaniards do not know if current e-commerce is sustainable. This is how it reveals the study “Sustainability in current e-commerce”, prepared by EAE Business School and coordinated by May López, Development Director of the Companies for Sustainable Mobility platform.
Furthermore, according to the report, 55.8% of Spaniards are willing to penalize brands and companies that are not sustainable with their purchase decision and 13.3% have already done so.
Garments occupy the first position in volume of business of electronic commerce (9%) with a growth of 48% in 2020 and 51% in 2021, according to the latest data from the CNMC corresponding to the first quarter of 2021. These data explain the increase in business volume experienced in recent years in these categories.
In this gift-giving age, many purchases focus on fashion, electronics and toys (including hobbies and DIY), food, and personal care along with furniture and appliances. The online sale of these categories has not stopped growing in Spain and it is estimated that they will reach a business volume that will reach 26.3 billion euros in 2025.
The report also reveals that 11.09% of Spaniards do not buy online, while 5.59% do so whenever they can. The most common trend is to buy between 25% and 40% online, as confirmed by 41.76% of those surveyed. Specifically, Catalans buy less online than in Madrid and the national average, since, although 16% buy more than 50% of their purchases online, it is 4 points below Madrid (19.5%) and 8 points below the national average (23%).
According to the EAE Business School professor and author of the study, one of the factors that generates a negative impact on the sustainability of electronic commerce are returns, which are in percentages of 20%, 30% if it is fashion, even 50% in campaigns such as Black Friday or sales.
For respondents, the use of excessive packaging (54.95%) or the use of packaging made of non-recycled or non-recyclable material (54.25%) are the major negative impacts in e-commerce sustainability, followed by the impact of imports from other countries (37.56%), aggressive campaigns (30.57%) and the impact on cities (14.19%). “Impacts that the consumer begins to have more present and that makes them doubt the sustainability of current e-commerce and increasingly seek to minimize the negative impact that it generates”, explains May López, director of Business Development for Sustainable Mobility , author of the report.
In this sense, three out of four respondents would value a badge that identifies the sustainability of the different online stores. In addition, 88% of those surveyed consider it relevant or very relevant that e-commerce offer more sustainable information and options, both for products / services and regarding their delivery.
“Movements like sustainabledelivery.org They give value to all e-commerce committed to sustainability and favor conscious decision-making by the consumer, promoting responsible consumption among society, generating a greater commitment to sustainability among organizations and empowering consumers as agents. change with your purchase decision”Says López.
“ANDIt is necessary to create business models under the approach of Spherical Economy based on the circular economy, in which we avoid the unnecessary consumption of products, considering the carbon footprint and the collaborative economy to eliminate the unnecessary consumption of natural resources, where the responsibility and impact of the organization is taken into account throughout the value chain. In this way, companies and organizations would grow economically, environmentally and socially sustainably.”, Concludes the professor of EAE Business School, director of Companies for Sustainable Mobility and author of the report, May López.
