Retailing Is One Of The Most Diverse Marketing Essay

Retailing Is One Of The Most Diverse Marketing Essay

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Retailing is one of the most diverse and dynamic sectors within advanced capitalist societies offering a seemingly ever-increasing range of goods and services to consumers.” (Jones, Hillier, Comfort, & Eastwood, 2005) This dominance and power makes it important for us to question the role that such significant industrial players adopt, concerning global issues such as sustainability. It is necessary to further evaluate the actions taken by the “relatively small number of large retailers who have aggressively pursued strategies to increase their sales, their market share and their profits” (Jones, Hillier, Comfort, & Eastwood, 2005) and analyse how they intend to incorporate sustainability within these capitalist based strategies.

“Sustainability and sustainable futures” are referred to as “endpoints of a process called sustainable development” byDunphy (2000). According to the World Commission on Environment and Development (1987), this is “development, which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”. Therefore, the challenge for retailers is to sustainably develop through their business activities and operations. From a marketing perspective, retailers are keen to promote their sustainable actions and corporate social responsibility (CSR) as there are a number of associated benefits according to Bevan et al (2004), including better financial performance and an improved relationship with customers.

As well as many benefits pulling retailers towards adopting a sustainable approach, there are also a number of drivers pushing retailers. A major influential figure for retailers is the government, which can apply pressure or can utilise legislation, encouraging action from retailers. For example, in 2008 studies suggested “around 13 billion plastic bags are given out free to UK shoppers every year and take 1,000 years to decay.” (TimesOnline, 2008) As this is by no stretch of the imagination ‘sustainable', Gordon Brown put pressure upon supermarkets to change this and stated “that if Government compulsion is needed to make the change, we will take the necessary steps to take action” (TimesOnline, 2008).

Due to the “growing public awareness of the often controversial economic, social and environmental impacts of [major food retailers'] activities”, (Jones, Comfort, &Hillier, 2007) retailers have been forced to respond. Many retailers are now aiming to promote their CSR credentials and their “commitment to CSR” (Jones, Comfort, & Hillier, 2007) . Lance Moir (2001) describes CSR as the “commitment” of a company, ensuring their actions are ethical in terms of economic and social development. CSR is a prominent feature in the strategies of the top 20 UK retailers, with over 12 of the top 20 found to be associated with all three aspects of CSR: environmental, social and economic concerns according to a study where each retailer was placed alongside CSR in a Google search (Comfort, Hillier, Eastwood, & Jones, 2005). One company that performed poorly in the Comfort et al (2005) investigation was Morrisons, who were only linked with the social factor. After performing the search again, it was evident that Morrisons had progressed and are now associated with all three key elements of CSR (Google, 2009).

Morrisons are one the four main players who have collectively acquired a staggering “75% share of the grocery market” (Shaw, 2006), giving each retailer a significant amount of power. According to views such as that of “legitimacy theory” (Moir, 2001), retailers should use this power in a responsible manner.

“Today we're making a difference for tomorrow” (Morrisons, 2009) is the message promoting Morrisons' quest to be (or to be seen as) a sustainable, socially responsible company and is the central theme to their annual CSR report. In order to ensure the success of Morrisons' strategy for sustainability, it must be effectively promoted to be aligned with the needs of the ‘green' consumer. Marketing and CSR are not always viewed as compatible, for example, The Ethical Corporation (2005) suggests they “traditionally [sit] on opposite sides of the fence”. There needs to be a focus upon sustainable strategy, with emphasis on how the sustainability is communicated to the target audience. Blomqvist and Posner (2004) appreciate benefits can be generated from a collaboration between CSR and marketing, which most companies do not take advantage of.

Although Morrisons are making headway in all areas of CSR - for example they are “one of the first companies to gain the Carbon Trust Standard, certifying genuine cuts in carbon emissions” (Morrisons, 2009) - they seem to be aware that consumers are “beginning to accept ‘green' as the standard” (Simms, 1992), especially concerning such mainstream issues as carbon reduction. This has lead to Morrisons' sustainable strategy revolving around fresh, locally sourced food and the sustainable benefits attached.

In order to communicate their strategy for sustainability Morrisons opted for the medium of television, and produced the ‘Fresh choice for you' advertising campaign which began in 2007; the same year they first produced their CSR report. The advert's intention was to promote Morrisons as having a wider range of fresh food made and prepared in-store than any other supermarket. The advert focused upon Morrisons' connection with the sourcing and supply of fresh produce. The message is delivered via a celebrity personality who is shown walking through farms, then seamlessly into the store. Morrisons appear to have almost euphemised their sustainable actions within this advert, to prevent too much information “overwhelm[ing]” and “even crippl[ing] decision-making” of the consumer (Bishop & Cho, Spring 2008). A simple message emphasising a strong connection with suppliers allows connotations such as ‘we support local farms'.

Alongside the television advertising campaign, Morrisons also promote the publication of their CSR report, accessible online. This details specific sustainable activities and helps to provide the ‘greener' consumer with more detailed information. For example, one outcome of Morrisons making and preparing most of their fresh food, which isn't highlighted in the advert, is they have lowest levels of food waste of any retailer. It is clear Morrisons are utilising separate channels of communication to provide the customer with different levels of information concerning their strategy for sustainability, which may not be the most successful route. It may be more appropriate for this information to be effectively communicated to all consumers, in order to effectively strengthen their market position.

In essence, Morrisons are segmenting their target audience in terms of their concern for green activities. Grant (2008) highlights three different categories that consumers fall into: “dark green”, “light green” and “no-brainers”. The “dark green” consumer has a high degree of concern for ‘green issues', through to “no-brainers” who have little concern if effort is required. It can be argued that by employing this particular strategy for sustainability Morrisons are satisfying the needs of their all consumers, with the CSR report providing information satisfying “dark green” consumers and the imposed reduction in carrier bags resulting in a 505 million reduction since 2005 (Morrisons, 2009), to satisfy the “no-brainers”.

Although, it could be suggested Morrisons have failed to effectively deliver a sustainable message throughout their stores. Within the Morrisons store there is limited information available concerning sustainability, which includes a small ‘From my Farm' range of local produce boasting the grower's name and location attached. This provides the customers with facts concerning a sustainable approach, but the question posed by Bishop and Cho (Spring 2008) is, does it result in the purchase of the product? “87 per cent of people say they are seriously concerned about the environment, yet studies indicate that sustainability does not often factor in purchasing decisions” (Bishop & Cho, Spring 2008). Bishop & Cho (Spring 2008) suggest that retailers such as Morrisons need to market their green attributes, whilst simultaneously providing the customer with a reason to make the purchase by creating “moments” in which the consumer can realise the importance of buying locally, highlighting the benefits to both the farmer and consumer. Instead it would appear Morrisons are aiming to “build a congruent image between the brand and the consumer” (Bryne, Whitehead, & Breen, 2003) through celebrity endorsement. I would suggest Morrisons should instead inform the consumer of positive reasons to purchase sustainable products, such as how it will help the local economy in hard times. As the public are constantly made aware by intense media coverage that the UK economy is shrinking at its “fastest rate for 50 years” (TimesOnline, 2009), they may see a greater incentive to purchase Morrisons locally sourced products. In doing so I feel Morrisons will be able to achieve a more sustainable approach to marketing sustainability.

After analysing Morrisons' strategy for sustainability from a marketing perspective, it would appear they are successfully differentiating themselves from the market through their approach. As competitors such as Asda and Tesco are currently heavily focusing upon price, Morrisons are identifying themselves as a provider of fresh locally sourced food and are even replicating a ‘market street' in their stores. Morrisons should consider that in order to gain a competitive advantage surrounding sustainability and CSR, then “integrating environmental perspectives into all aspects of marketing planning, especially marketing strategies but also structures and functions” (Hansen and Juslin, 1999) is crucial. Therefore, if Morrisons intend to separate themselves through their sustainability they will have to consider every aspect of their operations, from encouraging employees to ride to work, to encouraging suppliers to reduce packaging. With a catalogue of sustainable considerations, Morrisons must remember that in order to get the desired outcome and make the consumer purchase the product, they must align their strategy with the needs of the consumer.

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