E-commerce has soared post-pandemic, presenting new opportunities for businesses to connect with customers – the challenge now is standing out from the crowd. With competition fierce among companies offering similar products and services, how do you convert online browsers into bonafide customers and keep them loyal to your brand?
Consumers care about products with low environmental impact, as our previous blog on e-commerce showed. Consumers are more loyal to brands that enable them to make a difference in the fight against climate change. South Pole’s digital offsetting solution, Climate Click, is a great way to show consumers that your business understands the need for climate action and inspires them to consume responsibly. It is an easy, effective way for consumers to compensate for their online purchases and support our 1,000+ global climate action projects. E-commerce businesses that have integrated our solution have seen 5%-8% higher conversions on average, with upward extremes of 23%. So, consumers are less likely to abandon their shopping carts and actually complete their purchase because of being able to mitigate their climate impact.
In addition, our clients who have integrated Climate Click report that it has improved customer engagement, customer retention, and boosted brand perception. With the costs of customer acquisition rising significantly, giving customers more sustainable options is a failsafe way to strengthen your business and customer loyalty while contributing to fighting climate change.
Based on our traffic data, we found an average 12% increase in customer retention in the first five months after the Climate Click app was installed and once the option to offset a purchase had been included in the customer journey. From this, it’s clear that the opportunity to support sustainability initiatives gives customers a key incentive to come back to your website.
For society to have a true climate impact at scale, climate action should be accessible to all businesses – whatever their size or sector. Consumers also need simple and effective ways to play their part. This is why digital solutions must be made easy for everyone to understand and avoid their negative environmental impact.
One great example of South Pole’s most recent work in this area is eBay Germany’s Carbon Hub. This platform, linked to every eBay account, helps customers to educate themselves about the carbon footprint of their online purchases in the past twelve months, with an offset option so they can compensate for their emissions. More than that, the Carbon Hub provides valuable insights into how customers can take active steps to lower their personal carbon footprint; for example by buying secondhand or pre-loved goods. Our unique database integration technology even enables them to compare the emissions of new and pre-loved goods, thus helping them to make informed decisions.
The positive response to this initiative from eBay’s users confirms that consumers care about the climate. So far the platform has attracted 886,000 visits, who have collectively offset 1000 tonnes of carbon. A host of customers are now inspired to be more conscious about their purchasing habits. eBay Germany’s Carbon Hub’s success resulted in other eBay regions to follow suit and broaden the initiative’s reach.
The message is clear: far from representing a financial burden on your webshop or your customers, introducing a sustainable purchase option is a crucial opportunity for empowering your customers and futureproofing your brand. Your product development and customer journey won’t be complete without it.
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