“Do what I say, not what I do”.
That just about sums up our way of doing things. For example, time and time again we eat meat in restaurants while being vegan at home; we shop in organic shops but rush to discount stores to grab the bargains; we drive SUVs but campaign for composters in our neighbourhood; we criticise Amazon’s tax record while still remaining a customer…in short, we are contradictory.
Whose fault is it?
Consumers, whose aspirations and values vacillate and are precarious in an ever-changing world. But also no doubt all the requirements that brands and distributors push onto us. Who has been encouraged to drink tap water recently? Not many. Quite the opposite, we are encouraged to quench our thirst with bottled water, each one better for us that the last, increasing pollution right before our eyes. Do we have to follow all of advertising’s diktats? Of course not!
Long live trusted third parties!
Blogs, platforms, apps…as the need for consistency grows, consumers can now turn to channels of information that not only bring clarification on consumer habits but allow them to live in accordance with their beliefs.
The best example of this is YUKA. Downloaded by more than 11million French people, the app that acts as a carrot, not a stick, not only reveals the contents of our food products, but contributes to market evolution. This is why Intermarché in France is removing 142 additives from 900 of its own brand products. You see, consumers really can change the world.
The Main Think
Beliefs and consumption have not always gone hand in hand. But with new players in the market such as monitoring and measuring apps, times are clearly changing. What if truth and transparency were tomorrow’s cardinal values?