Sustainabilityat

Amazon

15.913/915SustainabilityLabShelbyWhite|PrestonKutneyPra:kModi|GeorgCaspary

PartI:Whataree-Commerce/consumer

purchasingbehaviorsofyoungIndian

consumers?Whatisthesizeandpoten:al

ofthismarket?

ProjectObjec1ve:ThegoaloftheprojectwastohelpAmazonuncoverinsightsaboutmillennialandgen-zIndianconsumers’

aPtudestowardssustainabilityandtheeffectonpurchasepreferencesinordertoprovideAmazonwith

informa:onthatwillhelpestablishinnova:veproductsorprogramsgearedtowarditssustainability-minded

consumersintherapidlygrowingIndianmarket.ToassistAmazon,wesoughttoanswerthefollowing

researchques:ons:

PartII:HowdoIndiansunderstandanddefine

sustainability?WhatareyoungIndian

consumeraPtudesaboutenvironmental

sustainabilityissues?

PartIII:WhatareyoungIndians’aspira:onsfor

thefutureandhowwillculturalvaluesand

aPtudesonsustainabilityaffecte-Commerce

behavior,especiallyaswealthgrows?

MethodologyandFindings:Focusingprimarilyonsecondaryresearch,ourteamexploredexis:ngstudiesonthetopicofsustainability,

millennialsandgenera:onzpreferencesintheU.S.versusIndia,aswellasevidenceonaPtudesofexperts

onclimatechange.AYernarrowingthescopetoincludeenvironmentalconcernsamongMillennial

consumersinIndiaonly,wefoundthefollowinginsights:

o Marketislargeandpoisedforgrowth,

ledbyyoungconsumers

o  Popula:onis65%rural,but70%ofincomeisgeneratedinci:es

o  Vegetarianismandweddingspending

highlightuniqueculture-driven

spendingbehavior,withsignificant

differencesfromU.S.,especially

regardingfood

o  Significantchallengestoe-Commerce

penetra:onexistincluding:poor

infrastructureandcashondemand

beingprimaryformofpayment

o  Climatechangeisperceivedasthebiggest

globalissuebyIndianswhileNorthAmerica

andWesternEuropeconsiderISISasthe

biggestglobalthreat

o  “Green”isassociatedwith“natural”or“herbal”andthemarketfororganicand

naturalproductshasbeengrowingat

25-30%

o  YoungIndiansaremoresociallyresponsible

andenvironmentallyawarethanprior

genera:ons

o  Indianconsumersmorelikelytopurchase

eco-friendlyor“green”products,allother

thingsbeingequal

o  Inconclusivewhetherornotyoungconsumersarewillingtopayapremium

o  Limitedevidenceforrela:onshipbetween

na:onalincomeandenvironmentalism.

o  Consump:onbehaviorinmostcategorieswill

changewithincome,withafewnotable

excep:ons-preferencesaroundmeat

consump:onandlocalgoodswillremain

sustainable.

o  IndiahasalonghistoryofCSRandIndiansbelievecompanies(especiallyforeignones)

haveadutytowardssocietythatislegally

enforceableandincreasinglyfocusedonthe

environment.

NextStepsforAmazon

InlightofthequalityofavailableresearchonIndianconsumers’aPtudesaboutsustainability,the

reliabilityandvalidityoftheconclusionsmaynotbeanadequatefounda:onforimmediateac:on.

WebelievefurtheranalysisisrequiredandAmazonisinauniqueposi:ontotakeadvantageofits

expansiveconsumerpurchasingdata:

MatchedpairsbacktestonpastsalesFindapairofsimilarproducts,withiden:cal

pricesandcustomerreviews.Oneproductin

thepairmustbeclearlysuperiorinsome

dimensionofsustainability.Analyze

propor:onsofsalesofthatproducttothe

overallcategoryinneighborhoodswith

differentincomeoragelevels.Repeat

analysisamongbothIndianandU.S.

consumerstocompareandcontrastfindings.

Experimentop1on2Forasingleitem,A/Btestversionsofthe

salespagewithsustainabilitymessagingor

informa:onplacedmoreprominently

(suchasnatural,organic,orlocal

adver:sementsIndian-made)andevaluate

twoeffects:theinforma:oneffectonsales

ofequallypriceditems,andthen

separately,thepriceeffect,orelas:cityof

demandaspriceisincreasedforthe

“sustainable”version.

Experimentop1on1StudyeffectofAmazon-brandedpackagingwaste

vsnon-brandedpackagingwasteonwillingnessto

purchaseonAmazon.Studydesigncouldhave

respondentsenterpastatrash-filledstreet,with

brandedtrashinten:onallyplacedintheirpath.

Respondentswouldbetoldthestudyisabout

eCommerceandremunera:onwouldmoney

towardsaneCommercewebsiteoftheirchoice.

Objec:ve:Determinewhetherornotthereare

nega:veeffectstobrandedwasteconsidering

Indianconsumers’concernsaboutinadequate

wastemanagement.