***designwangted
In recent years, as the concept of sustainable development has taken root in the hearts of the people, the brick-and-mortar retail industry is facing unprecedented challenges and possibilities. On the one hand, consumers have begun to identify with "socially responsible" green consumption, and sustainable lifestyles have become their pursuit and yearning for a better lifeOn the other hand, more and more brick-and-mortar stores with sustainability at their core are emerging in cities, gradually penetrating into people's daily lives.
It can be seen that the rise of green consumption in the real economy is not only a business trend, but also a change in values. Through innovative business models, improved product quality, and community efforts, brick-and-mortar retail is moving towards a more sustainable path. In this article, Jing Daily will explore the far-reaching impact of green consumption from different perspectives such as business model, consumption concept and community building.
Green consumption on the rise in the real economy
In 2018, an article titled "Post-90s Girls: My 'Zero Waste' Life" became a hot topic on the Internet, and the article mentioned The Bulk House in Beijing and its concept of life began to gradually enter the Chinese public's field of vision. In the years that followed, Chinese consumers' attitudes towards a "zero-waste" lifestyle changed from curiosity to acceptance, and evolved into a sustainable lifestyle sought after by younger generations.
Zhimeng's "2023 China Consumer Trend Report" pointed out that with the country's promotion of a green and low-carbon economy and the follow-up practice of the industrial side, consumers' attention to green and environmentally friendly products is also increasing, and consumers are willing to pay a premium for environmentally friendly and sustainable goods, and green lifestyles are becoming a new fashion. On Xiaohongshu, the Sustainable Living tab has reached 1200 million.
On Xiaohongshu, the Sustainable Living tab has reached 1200 million.
Screenshot of Xiaohongshu.
In response to this trend, a number of sustainable brick-and-mortar stores have sprung up in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, exploring green consumption formats in the real economy. Founded in Guangzhou in 2018, Hexi Youwu is a sustainable collection platform for good things, from the initial ** to the landing of K11, and continues to expand its offline layout through workshops and pop-up storesFounded in 2019, Slowood, a packaging-free store, has opened several stores in Hong Kong, China, and is a strong advocate for the refill culture. In June this year, 3R Labs, a cultural brand with a mission to "explore sustainable living in the city", launched its first offline space in Shanghaiand Stop Shop, a sustainable community store rooted in Shanghai's Xinhua Road neighborhood.
3R Labs offline space.
3R Labs Official Little Red Book.
Skylar, an ESG industry practitioner who has explored many sustainable lifestyle stores across the country, said in an interview: "On the one hand, I love to explore stores and find interesting and interesting stores and spacesOn the other hand, as a practitioner, you need to understand the industry dynamics at the forefront of the market, including what everyone is doing, what they are paying attention to, and the feedback of the market. ”
Skylar believes that a sustainable lifestyle can reduce the desire for unnecessary and complicated consumption and return to one's real needs, which will have a strong negative effect on both the cost of living and the pressure of consumption. "Some things are really unnecessary, and some things can really be reused. This is the main reason why I like to visit second-hand stores. She said.
Redefine what it means to be a "good product" in the eyes of consumers
The rise of the concept of sustainability in the real economy reflects consumers' thinking and attention to social responsibility. They no longer only focus on the quality and quality of the product, but also start to focus on the environmental characteristics and sustainability of the product.
At present, the consumer group that pays attention to this trend is still dominated by the younger generation. The 2023 Gen Z Cultural Heat Island Observation Report points out that young people urgently need a set of practical principles to cultivate sustainable living Xi habits, so the "3 R's" concept of reducing, reusing, and recycling is starting to become popular among Gen Z. The emergence of sustainable stores in line with the 3R concept provides a practical place for them to take the first step towards sustainable living.
According to Zizi, the co-owner of Stop Shop, the main consumer group of the store is between 25 and 35 years old, who have their own lifestyle opinions, a sense of responsibility for society and the global environment, and are willing to try new things. It is reported that since its opening three months ago, Stop Shop's profitability has tended to rise steadily, and consumers' acceptance of sustainable products has also increased. "Because our store is far away from the commercial neighborhood, it's easier to resonate with our fans, people who care about sustainability, and people who like to try something new. ”
Stop Shop attracts a lot of consumers who are concerned about the sustainability sector.
Idle down to the official Little Red Book of cooperatives.
For consumers, when shopping in sustainable stores, they are more concerned about the quality of the products in addition to the store concept. "Buying sustainable products doesn't mean we have to compromise on quality," Skylar said. Because of the concept premium, the product is relatively high, so in the current economic environment, there must be enough product value worthy of the first product to persuade consumers to buy.
At present, it seems that products with sustainable labels** are relatively high compared to traditional products, creating a so-called "green premium". The "2023 China Consumer Trends Report" released by Zhimeng pointed out that on the premise of ensuring that green products are more in line with safety, health and environmental friendliness, consumers are willing to pay for the premium they generate. According to the survey, there are 689% of consumers say they accept green products** higher than regular goods, with post-90s having the highest acceptance of premiums.
Zou Weiwei, the founder of Hexi Youwu, once mentioned in the "China Youth Daily" that through contact with consumers, it was found that in the concept of ordinary consumers, good products often refer to those that can be used effectively for a long time, "and then we will see the environmental problems, social problems solved behind the good products, or the sustainable attributes in a certain field, that is, better products." If there is an empty idea, but the design and use of the product itself are not good, it cannot be called a good product."
A green retail space created by the community
In recent years, community building has become a hot topic in sustainable urban governance. In an interview with The Paper, Professor Nobu Ingi of the School of Urban Policy Science at Tokyo Metropolitan University, who is the author of the book "A Guide to Placemaking", defined placemaking as "the sustainable activities in which citizens participate in the development and management of a town while building relationships with experts and administrative departments." "The further popularization of green consumption is also inseparable from the promotion of community building projects.
In an interview with Jing Daily, Xigua, the founder of Idle Down Cooperative, a youth sustainable community organization incubated and supported by Big Fish Creation, said: "Community building provides an important scenario for promoting sustainable lifestyles, connecting real and effective community residents' participation. Sustainable lifestyle does not only refer to the use of sustainable and environmentally friendly products, but more importantly, to realize the recycling of resources within a certain community and realize mutual assistance between people, so community building is a very necessary part of sustainable lifestyle. ”
In his spare time, the cooperative society organizes market activities from time to time.
Idle down to the official Little Red Book of cooperatives.
To this end, from 2021 to 2023, the Idle Shop Cooperative held nearly 30 sessions of the "Idle Exchange Market", advocating the recreation of idle resources, supporting the connection and development of individual creators and start-up brands, and laying a solid foundation for the creation of a sustainable store in the future. "The marketplace has built up a large community of loyal users and community who are concerned about sustainability. In order to stabilize the offline space that unites the power of the community and better show our imagination of sustainability, we decided to open a physical store with a sustainable theme. Zizi said.
In addition to selling sustainable products in stores, Stop Shop has become an important bridge to connect and motivate communities through sustainability-themed exhibitions, workshops, repair days and "Store Manager for a Day". Zizi believes that sustainability should grow in the community, take root in the lives of ordinary people, and subtly guide everyone to make more responsible consumption choices, laying the foundation for new consumption in the future.
The combination of placemaking and brick-and-mortar retail opens up new ideas for promoting sustainable lifestyles. However, in addition to the power of business, the adoption of sustainable lifestyles depends on the power of individual action, policy support and social education. Under the synergy of "top-down" and "bottom-up", the concept of green retail will influence more market participants.
Written by Linzy Lam
Edited by Wu Wenzhuo.