By Caroline Moraes - Professor of Marketing and Consumer Research.
As the Christmas shopping period begins in earnest following Black Friday and Cyber Monday, new research led by the University of Birmingham and the University of Bristol sheds light on how consumers’ environmental and social concerns fail to translate into ethical purchasing actions during online shopping.
The study, published in the Journal of Business Ethics, explores how competitive shopping environments and marketing tactics can influence moral decision-making among consumers. It reveals that the intense focus on bargains and limited-time offers, such as those prevalent during the festive sales periods, can lead shoppers to discount any concerns they may have about sustainability or fair labour, in pursuit of a deal.
Caroline Moraes, Professor of Marketing and Consumer Research from the Centre for Responsible Business at the University of Birmingham, and co-author of the study, said: "Our findings show that the tactics used by online shops create tensions between ethical intentions and actual behaviour. Many consumers aspire to shop responsibly by buying sustainably and ethically made products. But the design of websites and the urgency and excitement that people experience across online shopping platforms, which increase even further during events like Black Friday and Boxing Day sales, can often override these values.”
The qualitative study examined how self-described ‘ethically oriented’ consumers practice online shopping for clothes.
"Buying a loved one a gift or purchasing new clothes during the festive season shouldn’t come at the cost of our values and the environment." Prof Caroline Moraes, University of Birmingham
Dr Fiona Spotswood, Associate Professor in Marketing and Consumption at the University of Bristol Business School, and lead-author of the study, said: “We paid attention to how participants navigated existing digital retail websites, how they balance social and environmental information with other product information, and how they perform online shopping routines.”
The paper outlines that ethical decision-making is inhibited by some key characteristics of online shopping, including:
- Online shopping websites are designed for passive habitual scrolling and browsing.
- Price and aesthetic appeal being front and centre of products’ selling points rather than ethical factors.
- Lack of information about the ethical and environmental sustainability credentials of products.
- Being pressured to make an immediate purchase with limited-time deals.
The research calls for retailers to adopt responsible marketing practices, ensuring transparency and fairness in promotional strategies and including ethical and sustainability criteria in their online shopping websites. It also urges consumers to reflect on the broader social and environmental impact of their purchases, particularly during peak shopping periods when ethical considerations are most likely to be compromised.
Professor Moraes said: “With more of us shopping online than ever before, our research serves as a timely reminder that people do want to be more ethical in their shopping practices, but it can be incredibly hard to act in that way. Businesses should take this into consideration when it comes to their e-commerce offering. Buying a loved one a gift or purchasing new clothes during the festive season shouldn’t come at the cost of our values and the environment.”
Four tips on how to shop more ethically online
- Pause before you purchase. If you recognise you have been scrolling/browsing for a long time, take a break and ask yourself if you or the person you are buying for really needs this before hitting purchase.
- Search for specific sustainable options. Look directly for eco-friendly products and brands that prioritise fair labour practices and that have this information easily available.
- Avoid overbuying. Resist the urge to stockpile just because it is on sale at the click of a button. Someone else might need that item more than you do.
- Re-style and/or purchase second-hand. If you are shopping for clothes, consider re-styling what you already have and/or purchase second-hand items that can help you create your very own versions of the new styles you see online.
This post was originally published on University of Birmingham and republished with permission.
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