The power of millennials as a consumer
Consum has brought together experts in consumption and cooperativism to discuss the new role of the consumer and how companies are responding.
Citizens are increasingly aware of the influence of their actions and purchasing decisions. 62% of consumers in Spain say that, through their consumption, they can change the world. And an example is the new generations. According to Havas Group’s The Future of Trust study, 49% of millennials believe they have more influence in society as a consumer than as a voter. According to the results of the trust barometer published in Approaching the future 2019, 73% of citizens believe that companies can take specific actions that contribute to improving the economic and social conditions of the communities where they operate.
To discuss this new role of the consumer, who is accustomed to participate in a conversation with companies, thanks to new technologies, increasingly informed and sensitized in the field of CSR, Consum has brought together experts in the field in their III Meeting Saying Making Consumption ‘Cooperativism and the new role of the consumer’.
For the president of the Valencian Association of Housewives and Consumers Tyrius, Vicenta Alcácer, the consumer is no longer willing to assume a unidirectional speech. You have to give it a voice to help build the brand with the company and, with it, the products and services. “36% of consumers expect more social responsibility from companies, according to Nielsen. Business organizations, such as cooperatives, have been able to integrate responsible consumption and corporate social responsibility into their value chain, ”said Alcácer, who commented that,“ in a study by Tyrius, 64% of respondents did have in which company to consume according to its values ”.
“The public values the truth and they like to interact and be able to give their opinion about a product or service‘ promoted ’on social networks, avoiding mass collaborations,” said blogger-influencer Nuria Mollá of Mamis & Kids. The consumer is no longer a taxpayer, he has become an active protagonist who seeks information on what interests him to make the best decisions.
The customer, increasingly demanding and informed, cares about how their purchases impact society and the global environment, giving priority to brands and companies that share their same values. “Cooperatives are born to meet the needs of people and participation is one of them,” as stated by the president of the Confederation of Cooperatives of the Valencian Community (Concoval), Emili Villaescusa. “Cooperatives are more than a company, not so much because of what we do, but because of how we do it, encouraging the participation of all interest groups in three aspects: property, management and benefits.”
Precisely to respond to this new role of the consumer, Consum launched in 2013 the area of Customer Relations and Innovation with the objective of actively listening to understand and provide solutions to the needs of customers and work, together with them, in the improvement of products, services and business models. “Since then, more than 100,000 client-members have collaborated with the Cooperative. From this joint work, the development of the ecological range was born, in 2015, which is reviewed every year with our panel of 75 families to improve, ”according to the Consumer Relations Executive, Immaculate Gomez. What he did was to standardize the listening processes that the Cooperative had carried out for years in isolation.
Gomez said that every year about 600 own brand references are checked and reviewed some examples of improvement or product launches, such as the easy-opening of canned tuna; novelties in sprayers and household cleaners; chocolate with 80% cocoa; the reformulation of products to reduce fats, salt and sugars, following the Naos Strategy; as well as services, such as the waiting chair in the butcher, delicatessen and fishmonger sections; the expansion of the international range or the new warehouse section, among others.
Since 2018 Consum has also launched a specific area focused on the development of innovative concepts that, based on customers, serve to meet new needs.
Relevance of the cooperative sector
In Spain, the cooperative and social economy world brings together more than 40,000 companies, which represent 11% of GDP, and which account for about three million workers. Only 2.5 million members of a cooperative are concentrated in the Valencian Community.
