As the world careers towards environmental disaster while trust in big corporations and authority has reached new lows, corporations worldwide have tried to reflect these concerns in product positioning and for some the very substance of the products they sell. Brand purpose has become king.

Survey after survey appears to confirm that this is something that consumers (especially the enormous bucket that comprises the moving target ‘millennials’), really want. But is it as simple as that?

Extensive qualitative research by Heart & Head across multiple markets and categories over the last 2 years has uncovered the same, consistent message: Yes, most people care and worry deeply about the state of the world and the impact of their purchases and consumption, but most (not all), people need their product or service to deliver first on foremost on the basics.

Heart & Head in partnership with Rakuten Insight Global set about putting some real numbers behind this.

Our survey asked consumers in China, Japan and the US to rank what “MATTERS MOST TO YOU when you’re deciding between TWO brands” across six categories: Food, Beauty & personal care products, Clothing & shoes, Personal technology products, Household cleaning products, Alcoholic beverages.

We looked at key category drivers as well as overarching purpose drivers from sustainability to ‘made in my country’ / ‘supports my country’.

Methodology
The survey was conducted online among approx. 1,800 consumers from Rakuten Insight’s proprietary panels in China, Japan and USA.

Related articles: Inside China: Sustainability, Circular Economy

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