Head of sustainability at The White Company

‘More conscious consumption’: Farfetch details greener luxury shopping trends

The Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in more conscious consumption in the luxury sector, according to eCommerce marketplace and tech platform, Farfetch.

In the latest report from Farfetch studying its consumers’ behaviour, which was published on 23 June, it states 79% of shoppers surveyed believe they have adopted one or more behaviours regarded as more sustainable.

The most popular behaviour documented is consumers are now buying a higher proportion of luxury fashion because they understand it to be more sustainable than fast fashion, due to its perceived higher quality and longer lasting nature.

However, in further evidence of conscious consumption, 19% said they are buying less luxury fashion but ensuring the items they do buy are of high quality or timeless in style, with 9% saying they are buying less because they are mindful of overconsumption.

Some 19% indicated that they are now buying from emerging brands to support them, with Gen-Z customers over-indexing on this at 36%.

In the customer survey that formed part of the conscious consumption report, 60% of respondents said they believe their fashion shopping to be generally sustainable, with 11% saying they have started buying pre-owned luxury fashion to reduce their impact on the environment.

Thomas Berry, senior director of sustainable business at Farfetch, said in the conscious consumption report’s foreword: “Farfetch has a massive consumer audience and their interaction with our products and services gives us a unique and incredibly valuable view on the luxury customer of today.

“For this report, we’ve looked at the data that results from all those interactions to provide a year-long snapshot of the attitudes and behaviours of our audience through the lens of sustainability. The data we amass on a daily basis clearly shows us the commercial opportunity of investing in sustainability in luxury.”

Read the full report here.

Read more about Farfetch’s greener retailing efforts on Green Retail World

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