consumer behavior case study with solution

• Browse All Articles
• Newsletter Sign-Up

ConsumerBehavior →

No results found in working knowledge.

• Were any results found in one of the other content buckets on the left?
• Try removing some search filters.
• Use different search filters.

• Free Resources

5 mini case studies about understanding and serving the customer

This article was originally published in the MarketingSherpa email newsletter .

Mini Case Study #1: 34% increase in conversion for powdered health drink company by helping customers come to their own conclusions

A single-product company that sells high-quality, all-natural, powdered health drinks engaged MECLABS Institute to help better understand their potential customers and increase the conversion rate of prospects reaching the homepage.

The original homepage took a claims-driven approach – it provided several bold statements about what the product would do for a customer with no information about the product to help the customer understand why it would work for them. Here is a look at the upper left of the original homepage.

Creative Sample #1: Upper left of original homepage for health drink company

The MECLABS team created a version of the homepage that took a conclusion-driven approach – instead only trying to convince potential customers with only bold claims about the product, the homepage copy included information about the product to help customers understand why the product would help them.

Creative Sample #2: Upper left of treatment homepage for health drink company

The team tested this version as the treatment against the original homepage (the control) to help better understand what communication style customers would respond to.

The treatment generated a 34% increase in conversion rate.

This experiment highlights a classic disconnect between customers and marketers. If you work in a company or with a client, you have intimate knowledge of the product and believe in its effectiveness. You spend all day thinking about it. You personally know some of the people who designed it. Your paycheck depends on the success of the product.

A customer does not have this same understanding or belief in the product. They have a significant gap in their knowledge about your product. Bold claims alone are not enough to close that gap. They have to understand why the product will work and come to their own conclusions about the company’s ability to deliver on its promises.

You can learn more about this experiment in The Conversion Heuristic Analysis: Overcoming the prospect’s perception gap from MarketingExperiments (MarketingSherpa’s sister publication).

Mini Case Study #2: Bags company increases conversion 191% by adding clarity to homepage

“I'm the CEO of Doubletake , a tennis and pickleball bag company, but I spent the majority of my career focused on messaging and research, consulting as a strategist for top brands for the last 10 plus years, and in-house prior to that. I'm almost embarrassed that I have this example to share, but I thankfully came to my senses!,” Shawna Gwin Krasts told me.

“It is interesting that crafting messaging/copy for products that aren't ‘your baby’ is so much easier – there is just more distance to see it for what it is. If this wasn't so near and dear to my heart, I would have caught it in a second.”

The team launched its homepage with only the headline “Sports Meets Style” over a photo of a bag. The headline was meant to differentiate the brand from competitors that were either only sporty or fashionable. Below the headline was a call-to-action (CTA) button with the word “shop.”

Creative Sample #3: Previous homepage copy for bag company

Internally it seemed obvious that the company sells tennis and pickleball bags since a bag was in the photo.

But they came to realize that it might not be as clear to website visitors. So the team added the subhead “Gorgeous Yet Functional Tennis and Pickleball Bags.” They also added the word “bags” to the CTA so it read “shop bags.”

Creative Sample #4: New homepage copy for bag company

These simple changes increased the website's conversion rate by 191%.

“It is so important for marketers to get out of their own heads,” Krasts said. “I suppose this is why I struggle with messaging so much for Doubletake. I am the target customer – I have the answers in my head and I suppose my natural curiosity isn't as strong. But clearly, I also have to remember that I've seen my homepage 10,000 more times than my customers, which means things that seem obvious to me, like the fact that Doubletake is a tennis brand not a reseller, might not be obvious.”

Mini Case Study #3: Online motorcycle gear retailer doubles conversion with personalized emails

There are ways to better tap into what customers perceive as valuable built into certain marketing channels. Email marketing is a great example. Marketers can build off information they have on the customer to send more relevant emails with information and products the customer is more likely to value.

"Very early in my marketing career I was taught, 'You are not the target audience' and told to try to see things from my customer's perspective. Empathizing with customers is a good start towards seeing products from the customers' perspective, but marketers really need to focus on quantifiable actions that can help identify customers' needs. That means continuous testing across messaging, price points, packaging, and every other aspect of a product. This is where personalization can really shine. Every time a marketer personalizes a message, it brings them closer to their customer and closes that gap," said Gretchen Scheiman, VP of Marketing, Sailthru.

For example, 80% of the email messages RevZilla sent were generic. But the website sells motorcycle parts and gear to a wide range of riders, each with their own preference in brand and riding style. The online motorcycle gear retailer partnered with Sailthru to better connect with customer motivations. The team started by upgrading the welcome series for new customers by personalizing the email messages based on the customers’ purchases and preferences.

The company has tested and added many new triggers to the site, and now has 177 different automation journeys that include triggers for browse and cart abandonment as well as automations for different product preferences, riding styles and manufacturer preferences.

The conversion rate from personalized email is double what RevZilla was getting for generic batch-and-blast sends. Automated experiences now account for 40% of email revenue. Triggered revenue is up 22% year-over-year and site traffic from triggers has increased 128% year-over-year.

"Customizing the buyer journey isn't about one long flow, but about lots of little trigger points and tests along the way. For any marketer that is intimidated about getting started with personalization, it's important to realize that it's more like a lot of small building blocks that create a whole experience. We started with a custom welcome series using testing and built from there. We're still adding new tests and new trigger points, but it's with the same concept that we started with,” said Andrew Lim, Director of Retention Marketing, RevZilla.

Mini Case Study #4: Pet protection network increases revenue 53% thanks to survey feedback

Huan makes smart tags for pets to help owners find their pets if they go missing. Initially, the company focused on the technical features in its homepage copy. For example, the tags don’t emit harmful radiation, are water-resistant and have a replaceable one-year battery.

From customer feedback surveys, the team discovered that customers purchased the product because they were worried they wouldn’t be able to find their pet if the pet went missing. This discovery prompted the team to change its messaging.

The new messaging on the homepage read, “Keep your pet safe and prevent heartbreak. Huan Smart Tags help you find your missing pet automatically.”

Revenue increased 53% increase following the change in messaging. “We immediately saw an increase in engagement on our website, with a lower bounce rate, higher click-through rate and a higher conversion rate. There were also a few people who messaged us on social media saying how our new message resonated with them,” said Gilad Rom, Founder, Huan.

Mini Case Study #5: Talking to new customers leads SaaS to change strategy, increase sales 18%

When Chanty launched, the marketing messages focused on pricing since the Saas company is 50% less expensive than the best-known competitor. However, when the team started talking to customers, they discovered most people had switched from the competitor for different reasons – ease of use, better functionalities in the free plan, better experience with the customer support team, and a better mobile app.

The team changed its marketing to focus around these product attributes and only listed pricing in the end as an additional benefit.

“It turned out that this was the way to go because we attracted people who wanted a better experience, rather than just customers who wanted to save money. After six months of implementing this new marketing and sales strategy, our sales grew by 18%,” said Jane Kovalkova, Chief Marketing Officer, Chanty.

Related resources

The Prospect’s Perception Gap: How to bridge the dangerous gap between the results we want and the results we have

Customer-First Marketing: Understanding customer pain and responding with action

Marketing Research Chart: How customer understanding impacts satisfaction

Improve Your Marketing

Join our thousands of weekly case study readers.

Enter your email below to receive MarketingSherpa news, updates, and promotions:

Note: Already a subscriber? Want to add a subscription? Click Here to Manage Subscriptions

Get Better Business Results With a Skillfully Applied Customer-first Marketing Strategy

The customer-first approach of MarketingSherpa’s agency services can help you build the most effective strategy to serve customers and improve results, and then implement it across every customer touchpoint.

Get headlines, value prop, competitive analysis, and more.

Marketer Vs Machine

Marketer Vs Machine: We need to train the marketer to train the machine.

Free Marketing Course

Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages (with this free online marketing course)

Project and Ideas Pitch Template

A free template to help you win approval for your proposed projects and campaigns

Six Quick CTA checklists

These CTA checklists are specifically designed for your team — something practical to hold up against your CTAs to help the time-pressed marketer quickly consider the customer psychology of your “asks” and how you can improve them.

Infographic: How to Create a Model of Your Customer’s Mind

You need a repeatable methodology focused on building your organization’s customer wisdom throughout your campaigns and websites. This infographic can get you started.

Infographic: 21 Psychological Elements that Power Effective Web Design

To build an effective page from scratch, you need to begin with the psychology of your customer. This infographic can get you started.

Receive the latest case studies and data on email, lead gen, and social media along with MarketingSherpa updates and promotions.

• Your Email Account
• Customer Service Q&A
• Search Library
• Content Directory:

Questions? Contact Customer Service at [email protected]

© 2000-2024 MarketingSherpa LLC, ISSN 1559-5137 Editorial HQ: MarketingSherpa LLC, PO Box 50032, Jacksonville Beach, FL 32240

The views and opinions expressed in the articles of this website are strictly those of the author and do not necessarily reflect in any way the views of MarketingSherpa, its affiliates, or its employees.

Chapter 13 – Swiggy: A Consumer Behavior Case Study

We have already studied the theory of consumer behavior. You can find the full list of chapters here. It is now time to conclude with a bang!  This is a…

We have already studied the theory of consumer behavior. You can find the full list of chapters here . It is now time to conclude with a bang!  This is a bonus chapter to discuss a consumer behavior case study.

When you ask someone if they want to order food at home, the most common response is, “Chal Swiggy karte hain.” Founded in 2014 as an online food delivery service, Swiggy has become one of the most popular apps in India today. 

No business can succeed without pleasing its customers. What better way to satisfy consumers than by studying consumer behavior? 

It is common to see Swiggy sway us toward ordering food instead of eating at home with its eye-catching notifications about delicious food. But how does Swiggy know exactly what you’re craving each and every time?

This consumer behavior case study will try to demystify Swiggy’s success in India, how it has managed to defeat the competition, and how it deploys consumer behavior analytics to its advantage.

Let us begin with a quick history lesson.

Swiggy’s history

There is no better way of starting a case study than understanding how the organization started and how it has grown. In this consumer behavior case study, we will use the same method.

Swiggy was founded in 2014 by two BITS Pilani graduates, Sriharsha Majety and Nandan Reddy. It first tied up with some eateries in Bangalore and started delivering food to customers in under forty minutes in spite of the Bangalore traffic! 

At that time, there was no established business that was catering to this particular sector. Swiggy’s competitors were struggling, and at the beginning, so was Swiggy. 

It was difficult to get restaurants to partner with it. So, Swiggy made its logistics network faster, easier, and streamlined with a widespread and strong network of local delivery boys to make it stand apart in the online food delivery scenario. Soon, restaurants saw the perks of joining Swiggy (increased sales) and joined forces with it.

Swiggy raised $80 million in funding by 2015. After investors began to invest in the startup, the platform began to experience great heights. The food platform had partnered with over 100 restaurants by the end of 2015, and it was delivering over 70,000 orders each month.

Swiggy experienced losses 65 times in March 2016. Swiggy made the decision to focus on cost-cutting and bolstering the logistics network in April 2016. In order to better understand its customers' needs and improve its operations, Swiggy made investments in core engineering, automation, data sciences, machine learning, and personalization in 2017.

By the end of December 2017, Swiggy had expanded to more than ten cities, had partnerships with more than 20,000 restaurants, and was recording a staggering 4+ million transactions per month on their balance sheet. Swiggy acquired Scootsy in 2018 to expand its operations in industries like groceries, fashion, stationery, and other necessities, as well as to better serve its customers' needs and to improve its operations in 2017.

By 2019, Swiggy had a daily order volume of about 1.4 million, a delivery team of 45,000 agents, 1,30,000+ restaurant partners, and a presence in more than 325 Indian cities.

In 2020, when the pandemic hit, we all had massive cravings for restaurant food. The few of us who were still not using online food delivery platforms downloaded our only savior - Swiggy. The relief when the shahi paneer and butter naan got delivered…

The next step in studying the consumer behavior case study of Swiggy is understanding its consumer behavior strategies. Let’s take a look at them.

Swiggy’s strategy for customer retention

If you compare the notifications/ads that you and your friend get from the Swiggy app about four to five times a day, you will find some similarities. However, if you and your friend like completely different cuisines, you will notice the differences too.

For example, when I get a notification from Swiggy, it usually advertises burgers or fries. If you are an avid consumer of Indian food, you might get ads for samosas or chhole bhature, if you like Chinese food, you might get ads for manchurian and noodles, and so on.

In this way, Swiggy uses a hyperlocal marketing strategy . One definition of hyperlocal marketing is “a strategy that targets potential customers who are close to your business location and looking for products and services like yours.” ( PlotProjects ) 

This location is very specific. Swiggy tracks your location and suggests restaurants within a few kilometers radius. For example, if you live in North Delhi, you would rarely be suggested a restaurant in South Delhi. If so, you will be informed in advance that delivery fees would be higher than normal due to increased distance.

Swiggy uses machine learning to track users’ past purchases, search history, and even where they usually order from to make super-personalized ads. The ads are usually followed by a coupon if the consumer taps on the ad and visits the suggested restaurant’s page.

Using machine learning and these super-personalized ads, Swiggy was able to significantly reduce its customer acquisition cost.

Swiggy’s promotional strategies

Let’s talk about those push notifications again. Swiggy uses these notifications to retain your interest in its services and to increase your time spent on the app.

But what about Swiggy’s promotional campaigns? We won’t just discuss what Swiggy does to retain old customers in this consumer behavior case study. In this section, we will discuss how Swiggy promotes its services.

Swiggy’s promotional campaigns are both engaging and participatory . The posts are humorous, appealing, of outstanding quality, and lighthearted. Ingenious puns and one-liners were used in campaigns like #EatYourVeggies, #SuperSwiggy, and #EarnYourCheatMeal to promote healthy eating.

Apart from these campaigns, Swiggy also gets its services promoted by influencers . Across the board, Swiggy is active on social media. They also publish humorous blogs that make fun of current events in order to promote the company's goals and services.

Daily emails are sent by Swiggy to its clients. They use eye-catching images, smart slogans, and mind-blowing deals to grab customers' attention. Customers like us then increase Swiggy’s CTR by clicking on the links and notifications to enter the sweet sweet world of tasty food.

How Swiggy reads customer experience

When you log on to Swiggy from a different location, you first choose a delivery address, decide the cuisine you would like to have, scroll through the endless list of available restaurants, and finally scroll through the menus of these restaurants. 

You do all this while keeping in mind your budget for both time and money. As a result, you end up spending too much time deciding what to eat and ultimately settling for something that can reach you within less than half an hour. Wouldn’t you love it if Swiggy just offered you some pre-customized carts that you can order in a jiffy?

Well, this is not only true in this consumer behavior case study. Swiggy is actually planning to offer these pre-customized carts with two items each ! It is planning to incorporate these changes in upcoming versions of the mobile application.

With the machine learning tools already in place to create echo chambers of recommended restaurants with your favorite cuisines, Swiggy will use Food Intelligence (FI) technology to make consistent combinations of two dishes each. Consumers will be able to order these directly without having to give too much thought to what to eat.

For example, if Swiggy has the data to show that you like Chinese food, it might show you a pre-made cart with noodles and manchurian. If you like North Indian food, it might offer you a cart with shahi paneer and butter naan.

How Swiggy facilitates online consumer behavior

SInce the pandemic in 2020, we have all started craving good experiences. As an Indian, I feel like no experience is superior to having good food and good company. Swiggy solves one of these pressing issues - providing good food at your convenience.

However, we also love the comfort of knowing that we have a single trustworthy medium to fulfill at least a few of our basic needs. Apart from delivering food, Swiggy ventured into grocery delivery, in-city courier services, and even delivering items from small businesses .

The pandemic made us realize how fickle the physical environment is. It didn’t take us long to try new grocery delivery apps like Big Basket and Grofers. However, we wanted a guarantee from the application, and we also wanted free space in our phones. 

When Swiggy ventured into the grocery division, it was a huge respite for some. Swiggy had already established its network and customer base. All it needed to do was partner with supermarkets and our favorite kiranas.

With the guarantee to deliver groceries to the comfort of our homes in less than half an hour, Swiggy quickly became one of our favorite apps for ordering groceries. Since we could get rid of apps that solely delivered groceries, we didn’t mind the free space on our phones either!

The second division Swiggy got into was the intra-city courier service, which Swiggy named Swiggy Genie. You can order food from a restaurant, get your groceries, and even send items to someone you’re too busy to meet in the same city.

This service was especially helpful for people who worked late hours and missed their mom’s rajma chawal. Their moms could easily send lunch to them without having to travel.

Swiggy has another division now called Swiggy Minis. It supports small businesses in major cities in India by facilitating delivery to customers, giving them an online store feel with its own mobile application interface, and making it easier for customers to discover them.

Since it’s a consumer behavior case study, we will now conclude by analyzing what a huge role consumer behavior plays in Swiggy’s strategies. 

Analyzing the role of consumer behavior

In a nutshell, Swiggy observed online consumer behavior and converted its application into a one-stop shop for almost all the daily needs of Indian consumers. It understood the need for trust and credibility for consumers in India while also understanding the need for comfort even when shopping online.

Slowly, step by step, Swiggy created a platform for consumers to order food, groceries, and meat, send and receive intra-city couriers, and order items from their favorite small businesses. It shaped its promotional strategies to suit the needs of the young Indian consumer. Its promotions are flashy and engaging, and its offers are irresistible.

It is great at retaining customers, not only because of the variety and convenience it offers but also because of its quick and satisfactory customer service. With the pre-customized carts, it will ensure that even more customers are retained.

In all, Swiggy is one of the biggest food delivery giants in the country because of its exceptional use of consumer behavior data it collects and consumer trends prevalent in the market.

Conclusion and key takeaways

In this chapter, we discussed the consumer behavior case study of one of the biggest food delivery giants in the country - Swiggy. To recap, we looked at how Swiggy uses consumer behavior in its following strategies:

• Customer retention strategy
• Promotional strategy
• Reading customer experience
• Facilitating online consumer behavior.

From shops to bins: a case study of consumer attitudes and behaviours towards plastics in a UK coastal city

• Original Article
• Open access
• Published: 30 January 2023
• Volume 18 , pages 1379–1395, ( 2023 )

Cite this article

You have full access to this open access article

• Stephanie Lucy Northen   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-6496-9502 1 ,
• Laura Karoliina Nieminen   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-8652-016X 1 ,
• Serena Cunsolo   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-0161-2661 1 , 3 ,
• Steven Kator Iorfa   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-5571-2713 1 , 4 ,
• Keiron Philip Roberts   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-2222-3929 1 , 3 &
• Stephen Fletcher   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-1180-9844 1 , 2  

8376 Accesses

6 Citations

41 Altmetric

Explore all metrics

A Correction to this article was published on 16 February 2023

This article has been updated

Understanding the use behaviours of plastic items within households is important to enable informed policy development, particularly with the emerging and developing global plastic treaty. A survey of 400 permanent residents in Portsmouth aimed to identify the general trends in single-use plastic product (SUPP) use and disposal, and their personal motivations and barriers to reducing and recycling plastic. This included identifying common influencers of attitudes such as environmental values, situational characteristics, psychological factors and the individual demographic characteristics of residents. Key factors in consumer behaviour were found to be product availability, affordability and convenience. Often, less conveniently recycled plastics more frequently end up in landfill such as films, shopping bags and personal care items. The age of respondents was found to be the most significantly associated demographic with SUPP consumption, reuse and recycling behaviours. Other demographic variables such as a resident’s location within the city, income and vehicle ownership were potential drivers influencing individual attitudes and their incentives towards reducing and recycling their plastic waste. The findings from this study brought to light the importance of effective local plastic governance. This study also identified consumer perceptions and behaviours that could contribute to future holistic plastic policy recommendations.

Similar content being viewed by others

A study on consumer consciousness and behavior to the plastic bag ban in Kenya

Isaac Omondi & Misuzu Asari

Single-use plastic bags: challenges, consumer’s behavior, and potential intervention policies

Hassan Taghipour, Asghar Mohammadpoorasl, … Nasrin Jafari

Single-use plastic packaging in the Canadian food industry: consumer behavior and perceptions

Tony R. Walker, Eamonn McGuinty, … Janet Music

Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.

Introduction

Plastics are ubiquitous with approximately 4.9 million metric tonnes of plastic produced for the United Kingdom (UK) market annually (Tiseo 2021 ). The volume of mismanaged plastic waste is increasing, with implications for human health and nature (Jambeck et al. 2015 ; Mason et al. 2018 ; Welden 2020 ). Since plastic manufacturing began in the 1950s, it has been estimated that approximately 4.9 billion tonnes (60%) of all the plastic produced has ended up as pollution. This waste is accumulating in landfills and the environment (as pollution), and only 10% of all plastic waste generated has been recycled (Geyer 2020 ; Geyer et al. 2017 ). In this paper, we briefly discuss single-use plastic product (SUPP) consumption and waste generation in the UK and consider some of the environmental impacts that plastic pollution and waste has on the environment. Here, we present a survey case study we conducted in Portsmouth and our findings regarding the trends in SUPP consumption, demographic influences, and plastic avoidance behaviours (PABs) and waste disposal attitudes (WDAs) of Portsmouth residents. Finally, we discuss the implications of our findings for future research and policy priorities to reduce the consumption of SUPPs.

Some of the drivers of plastic consumption and utilisation have been identified as environmental values, situational characteristics and psychological factors that can be used to predict purchase behaviour and waste management intentions (Barr 2007 ). The disposability of plastics and its average residence time within households is often dictated by availability, affordability and convenience (O’Brien and Thondhlana 2019 ). In 2017, 2.4 million tonnes of plastic were sold in the UK, 1.3 million of which was used for plastic packaging alone, which is often a highly discarded and single-use material in retail and hospitality (Burgess et al. 2021 ; WRAP 2018 ). The most littered items in the UK are bottles, bags and single-use food wrappers (Ocean Conservancy and International Coastal Cleanup 2017 ). The UK government in 2018 set out a plan to ban the sale of certain SUPPs such as plastic straws, drink stirrers, cups and plastic stemmed cotton buds, which entered into force in April 2020 (DEFRA 2019 ). The UK, along with other nations, believed that restricting the sale of some of the most frequently littered SUPPs would lead to a gradual phase out of all unnecessary SUPPs (DEFRA 2018 ). However, since the introduction of a plastic bag charge in 2015, the UK has seen little progress in effectively phasing out other SUPPs in legislation (WRAP 2020b ).

Studies of SUPP reuse tend to focus mainly on plastic bags (Van Rensburg et al. 2020 ; Liu et al. 2021 ). Before a five pence plastic bag charge in the UK, 55% of consumers used plastic bags from supermarkets, which fell to 22% within 6 months of the introduction of the charge (Adeyanju et al. 2021 ; Thomas et al. 2019 ). The COVID-19 pandemic subsequently increased the purchase, disposal and litter of plastic packaged items and personal protective equipment (Roberts et al. 2022 ; Khan et al. 2020 ; Kitz et al. 2022 ; Vanapalli et al. 2021 ; Sharma et al. 2020 ; Silva et al. 2021 ; WRAP 2020a ).

It is estimated that within the UK, 1.53 million tonnes of plastic waste was produced in 2016 from all sectors, with household waste contributing 8% of this figure (Smith 2022 ). The latest plastic waste arisings data for the UK show an increase of 24% between 2010 and 2016 (Smith 2022 ). If this rate of plastic waste increase continues, the UK is expected to produce 6.3 million tonnes of plastic waste per year by 2030. Plastic packaging will make up approximately two-thirds of the waste (Smith 2022 ). The UK exports approximately 40% of its plastic waste to Turkey and Southeast Asian countries annually for disposal or to be recycled (Tiseo 2021 ; Zhao et al. 2021 ), yet it is unclear if these countries have sufficient waste management capacity to deal with this additional waste (Lebreton and Andrady 2019 ). Up to 12.7 million tonnes of mismanaged plastic waste enters the oceans annually according to estimates from 2010, with 19–23 million tonnes predicted to enter aquatic ecosystems annually, equivalent to 11% of the global plastic waste produced (Bergmann et al. 2022 ; Borrelle et al. 2020 ; Jambeck et al. 2015 ; The Pew Charitable Trusts and SYSTEMIQ 2020 ). Plastic waste enters aquatic ecosystems through a number of different pathways including sewage effluents, surface runoff and groundwater flow. This eventually gets carried into rivers and oceans when unmanaged, particularly during storms or extreme weather conditions in coastal areas. This is a threat to marine life in various ways, ranging from entanglement in plastic items to plastic ingestion (Welden 2020 ). Moreover, plastic manufacturing is an emission-intensive process which exacerbates climate change impacts in the oceans (Center for International Environmental Law 2019 ; Shen et al. 2020 ).

As the awareness of the impacts of plastic waste and pollution on the environment and public health grows, the urgency of switching to more sustainable alternative materials and holistic interventions in plastic governance globally is clear. The recent United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-5.2) draft resolution, End plastic pollution: Towards an international legally binding instrument (UNEP 2022a , b ; IUCN 2022 ), commits to develop a global plastics treaty by 2024 to substantively transform plastic economies and consumer behaviour towards a more sustainable and circular plastics economy.

A circular economy approach is often offered as a solution to reducing the impacts of plastics. The principles of a circular economy focus on the importance of cutting plastic production through reducing, reusing and refusing practices (Crippa et al. 2019 ). Although the global effort to participate in recycling practices is still supported for having some sustainable potential in contributing to the transition towards a circular economy and closing the loop on plastic pollution, there is still debate around the limitations of recycling in the current literature (Geyer et al. 2016 ). Recycled and recyclable products are more sustainable than producing and using virgin or unrecyclable plastic. However, recycling only reduces waste generation if it reduces primary material production; otherwise, the end pathway of the plastic is only delayed. Effective and well-managed recycling practices are not universal and adaptable to all nations’ different capacities across countries and are therefore not always a long-term viable solution. Recycling plastic indefinitely is not always recommended due to other environmental impacts involved in the process and that many types of plastic lose structural integrity and their potential to be reused after multiple recycling processes (Geyer et al. 2016 ; Bucknall 2020 ). Recyclability has become a convenient label on products by producers and retailers as a marketing tool; however, the reality of the complexity of processing different plastic materials in different areas of the UK alone is not as simple, and this often becomes misleading or ‘greenwashed’ messaging. This study will examine if any of these discussed considerations on plastic reuse and recycling perceptions and practices are similar amongst the findings in Portsmouth’s survey respondents.

Case study: Portsmouth, UK

Portsmouth is a densely populated coastal city on the South Coast of England, UK with 5315 people per sq. km in 2020 (Office for National Statistics 2021 ). This makes Portsmouth the second most densely populated city in the UK after London (5727 people per sq. km in 2020; Office for National Statistics 2021 ). Portsmouth is the UK’s only island city (Fig.  1 ). The immediate proximity of the city to the ocean carries multiple pollution risks including the erosion of historic landfill sites and beach litter. Due to its geographic limitations as an island and population density, Portsmouth has a limited recycling kerbside collection system. Currently, only paper, card, plastic bottles, metal cans, tins and aerosols are recycled (Portsmouth City Council 2022 ). The current recycling rate for Portsmouth is 24.7%, one of the lowest in the UK and considerably lower than the national average of 46.2% (Letsrecycle 2021 ; DEFRA 2021 ). Most other UK councils on average collect 54% of ‘rigid’ plastics (i.e. drinks and detergent bottles) and 4% of plastic consumer films (i.e. bags, sachets and wraps) (Burgess et al. 2021 ). However, Portsmouth has one of the lowest landfill rates in the UK, with only 4.2% of total collected waste going to landfill, with the majority of waste incinerated (Portsmouth City Council 2022 ).

Map of the UK case study city (Portsmouth) showing the location of survey area postcodes (PO1–PO6)

England’s Waste Strategy previously set a target to reuse, recycle and compost 45% of household waste by 2015 and 50% by 2020 (DEFRA 2018 ; Timlett and Williams 2009 ). Portsmouth was not amongst the 22% of UK councils that met this target (Letsrecycle 2021 ). The total amount of plastic sent to a Materials’ Recovery Facility (MRF) in the southeast of England was greater (approximately 14,000 t) than any other area in the UK (< 8000 t) in 2012–2014 (Hahladakis et al. 2018 ). Approximately 50,000 t of all waste from Portsmouth and the surrounding towns is sorted for recycling at the MRF per year and 200,000 t is incinerated at the Energy Recovery Facility (Callingham 2020 ). However, there are no data on the plastic content of those wastes. A waste composition analysis for the Portsmouth City Council found that, in 2018, approximately 14% of waste from recycling bins was plastic, of which nearly 4% were “non-target plastics” such as plastic tubs, pots and trays that are not included in the current recycling collection scheme (Integra 2019 ).

As both a coastal and the second most densely populated city in the UK, Portsmouth can provide critical insights into the role of plastics in everyday life, including the challenges of managing plastic waste in a densely packed urban setting. Previous research on consumer attitudes, behaviours and flows of plastic through systems in cities similar to Portsmouth formed the basis for our research questions (RQ) (Barr 2007 ; Van Rensburg et al. 2020 ; Walker et al. 2021 ; Varkey et al. 2021 ). Our research provides an opportunity to explore this topic to better understand how households in Portsmouth operate in their plastic-saturated daily lives. We aimed to determine trends in household plastic purchase, reuse and disposal habits and approaches in Portsmouth. We identified the demographic factors that influence plastic-related consumer behaviour and perceptions and behaviours around plastics in general. Finally, we determined key PABs and WDAs of Portsmouth residents relevant to local businesses, waste management and recycling services. We set our RQ as follows:

RQ1: What are the trends in SUPP flow through Portsmouth households? RQ2: Which demographic factors influence SUPP trends and consumer attitudes and behaviours? RQ3: What are the dominant PABs and WDAs in Portsmouth?

Materials and methods

Survey method and questionnaire.

We collected survey data on household attitudes and behaviours towards plastic items from 400 Portsmouth residents using a questionnaire between June and July 2021. Red Brick Media Company Ltd (a commercial survey company) sourced the respondents from general public research panels filtered by Portsmouth postcodes. Survey participants were incentivised using a points-based reward system. The pool of 1796 Portsmouth respondents was either qualified or disqualified based on survey completion and their responses checked for validity and quality. This way, the survey company was able to disqualify incomplete survey responses, respondents that “flat-lined” through the survey to get points, and responses with contradicting answers. The final sample ( n ) of 400 qualified and fully completed survey responses were weighted against the most recent 2020 census data based on age and gender distributions in the population in Portsmouth. Based on a power analysis, to have a confidence interval (CI) of 95% with a ± 5% margin of error for the results, minimum sample size was calculated at 317 respondents for a population of 1796.

In addition to social demographics (‘age’, ‘gender’ and ‘postcode’), economic demographics (‘income’, ‘education’, ‘living situation’ and ‘vehicle ownership’) were mapped in the survey (see the key for factor levels in SI2). The five subscales of the questionnaire were SUPP consumption (purchase hereafter), usage (reuse hereafter), disposal and plastic-related attitudes, perceptions, and behaviours (see SI1) in relation to four types of SUPPs (bags, bottles, films and tubs) (Table  1 ; Fig.  2 ). We mapped SUPP purchase and reuse based on a weekly average per household and how they disposed of their SUPPs once they become waste. Regarding attitudes and perceptions, we asked respondents about their knowledge on climate action, marine litter, and the impact of an individual’s actions. In addition, we asked respondents a selection of Portsmouth-specific questions relating to local matters such as littering and awareness of local zero-waste shops (see the full list of questions in the SI1).

Image examples of the different types of single-use plastics included in this survey: a plastic bottles, b plastic films, c plastic tubs, d plastic bags. See Table  1 for further classifications. Source: Authors' conception

Data handling and analysis

The majority of the data collected were Likert-type, i.e. statements or questions with neither polar opposites nor neutral middles in the answer scale (see SI1). Due to the exploratory nature of our study (to explore which demographics and socio-economic variables have the widest impact on consumer behaviour towards SUPPs), we used simple Pearson’s Chi-squared tests for independence to identify impactful demographics in relation to SUPP purchase, reuse, and disposal. The postcodes included in the analysis were specific to Portsmouth, UK. Where the cell size of the sample was too small for Pearson’s Chi-squared tests for independence, we performed Monte Carlo simulations of the p values, i.e. Pearson’s Chi-squared coefficients (see R code in SI2). For any test with Monte Carlo simulation, the degrees of freedom ( df ) are not reported by convention. All statistical analyses were performed in R (R Core Team 2022 ) and with the CI of 95%. For the R packages used, please see Supplementary Information (SI2). As the main foci in our analysis were the attitudes and behaviours regarding the purchase, reuse, and disposal of four types of SUPPs, we used descriptive statistics to present the population of respondents (Table  2 ), the purchase and reuse phases of the SUPP household flow and the SUPP-related waste disposal behaviours (WDBs), the PABs and the WDAs of the respondents.

Sample demographics

All of the respondents were permanent residents of Portsmouth, and more than half (57%) have lived in Portsmouth for more than 20 years. Most respondents were either 31–50 years old (42%) or 51 years old and over (36%). The numbers of females, males and people representing other genders were 203, 194 and 3, respectively. The education level of most respondents was secondary school or above (74%). The majority owned their current residence (56%). The average household income was less than GBP 25,000 (38%) followed by GBP 25,000–49,999 (33%). The majority (70%) of Portsmouth households own one or more vehicles (i.e. motorbike, car or van) (Table  2 ).

SUPP trends in Portsmouth households

The median weekly purchase rates for the four SUPP types were ‘none’ (bags) and 3–5 (bottles, films, and tubs; Table  3 ; Fig.  3 A). The majority (61%) of respondents did not purchase any plastic bags in an average week, 89% in total bought 0–5 bags, and only 5% bought either between 6 and 10 or more than 11 bags per week. 61% of respondents bought between 0 and 5 plastic bottles in an average week, 18% bought 6–10 and 8% bought more than 11 bottles. Plastic tubs were often bought in quantities of 0–5 per week (66%), 21% purchasing 6–10 and 10% more than 11 tubs. Respondents bought plastic films more frequently at a rate of 0–5 per week (54%), or over 6 times per week (42%). The median weekly reuse rate for the measured SUPPs were 5–10 times (bags), 2–4 times (bottles), ‘never’ (films) and 5–10 times (tubs; Table  3 ; Fig.  3 B). Respondents often used SUPPs more than 5 times before disposing of them, with most respondents reusing bags more frequently (58%), followed by tubs (48%), bottles (33%) and then rarely films (7%). 60% of respondents never reused film SUPPs.

Consumer behaviour and SUPPs. A SUPP purchasing behaviour per average week in Portsmouth households, B SUPP reuse behaviour in Portsmouth households

The most common methods of plastic disposal were in a general waste bin (WDB1), a recycling bin (WDB2) and indefinite storing (WDB7; Fig.  4 ). The SUPP items with the highest household recycling rates (including domestic or public recycling bins (WDB2) and recycling centres (WDB3) were bottles (85%) and tubs (61%). The least recycled SUPPs were bags and films with household recycling rates of 30% and 27%, respectively. Figure  4 also shows the practice of “wish-cycling” (Somerville 2017 ), whereby non-recyclable SUPPs are put in recycling bins by consumers. The use of specialist waste collection services, landfills sites or deposit return schemes was not common and, combined they accounted for approximately only 3–5% per each SUPP type (Fig.  4 ). Although some personal care items such as makeup containers, disposable razors, cotton buds and toothpicks can be considered as SUPP items due to their low likelihood of reuse, we did not analyse them in the same detail. However, we found that most personal care items were disposed of permanently rather than recycled, with 76% of the personal care items ending up in landfills.

Waste disposal behaviours (WDBs) of households regarding SUPPs

Socio-economic factors and demographics of significance

Supp flow through portsmouth households.

We found that the most significant demographics with the widest impact on plastic usage were age and gender, with each impacting 10 and 6 aspects of SUPP flow through Portsmouth households, respectively. Age significantly impacted the purchase rate of bottles, films, and bags ( p  < 0.05, Table  4 ). Age also significantly impacted the reuse of tubs, films, and bags, as well as the disposal of all four types of SUPPs ( p  < 0.05, Table  4 ). For example, 85% of respondents aged 51 years and above purchased zero plastic bags in an average week, compared to 39% of the youngest age group (≤ 30 years). The impact of gender was significant ( p  < 0.05, Table  4 ) on the purchase of bottles, the reuse of tubs and the disposal of all four types of SUPPs.

Education, living situation and postcode impacted 3 aspects of SUPP consumer behaviours. Education significantly impacted the reuse of films and the disposal of bottles and films ( p  < 0.05, Table  5 ). Living situation significantly impacted the purchase of films and bags and the reuse of bags ( p  < 0.05, Table  5 ). The impact of postcode was significant ( p  < 0.05, Table  4 ) on the purchase of bottles and films and the disposal of bags. Both income and vehicle ownership impacted two aspects of SUPP consumer behaviour. The impact of income was significant ( p  < 0.05, Table  5 ) on the purchase of bottles and the disposal of films, and vehicle ownership significantly impacted the purchase and disposal of bottles. None of the tested demographics or socio-economic factors had a significant impact on the consumer behaviour around purchase of plastic tubs or on the reuse of plastic bottles (see SI3 and SI4 for full results).

• Consumer perceptions

With regard to consumer perceptions of plastic, we found age to have the widest impact with significant differences ( p  < 0.05, Table  6 ) in responses of three out of five of the perception-related test statements, namely ‘ awareness of zero-waste shops in Portsmouth ’, ‘ concerned that plastic waste ends up in the ocean ’ and ‘ main consideration when buying products or items ’. Respondents aged 31–50 years were more regular at shopping in Portsmouth zero-waste shops than their counterparts, while the oldest age group (> 50 years) reported being less aware and less willing to shop in Portsmouth zero-waste shops. Without accounting for age, the majority of respondents were not aware of any zero-waste shops in Portsmouth ( n  = 175, 44%) but would like to use them. Whereas 22% ( n  = 88) said they were aware of zero-waste shops but have never visited one, and 17% ( n  = 69) of the respondents said they were not aware and are not likely to use them. Occasional and regular customers of Portsmouth zero-waste shops comprised 8% ( n  = 30) and 4% ( n  = 14) of all respondents, respectively.

Younger respondents (≤ 30 years) were more concerned about plastic waste entering the ocean than their older counterparts (> 50 years). Overall, the concerns around how often plastic waste ends up in the ocean were distributed along the scale of always (5%, n  = 19), most of the time (26%, n  = 104), sometimes (50%, n  = 200), rarely (15%, n  = 60) and never (4%, n  = 17). Regarding the main considerations when buying plastic products or items, price was more important as a purchasing consideration to respondents aged ≤ 30 years and 31–50 years, quality was a more predominant consideration to respondents aged > 50 years. Other significant differences within the main purchasing considerations by order of most likely age groups were sustainability (31–50 years) and ethics (≤ 30 years). Overall, value for money was the most important consideration (30%, n  = 119), followed by price (24%, n  = 97) and quality (22%, n  = 22).

Consumer behaviours

Age was the demographic with the greatest impact on consumer behaviour with significant differences between different age groups (30 years and under, 31–50, and 51 and over) ( p  < 0.05, Table  6 ) in three out of five of the behaviour-related test statements, namely ‘ attitudes towards waste disposal ’, ‘ barriers to recycling plastic ’ and ‘ barriers to reducing plastic ’. Attitudes towards waste disposal consisted of a scale from 1 (“ I don’t really think about what happens to my waste once it is out of my hands ”) to 7 (“ I am very concerned about where my waste ends up and what impact it has on the environment ”). Older respondents (> 50 years) were more concerned about where their waste ends up compared to the other age groups. Overall, the majority of respondents (29%, n  = 114) were extremely concerned about the final destination of their waste.

Regarding the barriers to recycling plastic, respondents aged ≤ 30 years found unclear information, forgetting to recycle and disagreements within households as their main barriers. Respondents aged 31–50 found the lack of both local plastic recycling facilities and local support as their main barriers. The oldest age group (> 50 years) stated limited council collection as their main barrier as well as stating that they already recycle everything they can. Overall, collection practices (29%, n  = 115) and unclear recycling information (16%, n  = 62) were the key barriers to recycling more plastic waste amongst respondents.

The main barrier to reducing plastic consumption for the youngest age group (≤ 30 years) was limited functionality of plastic alternatives, while a few ( n  = 6) respondents in the same age group stated that reducing plastics is not important. The higher price of plastic alternatives was the main barrier for reducing plastic for respondents aged 31–50. While stating limited availability of plastic alternatives as their barrier, the oldest age group (> 50 years) felt that there were no barriers for them to reduce plastic consumption compared to the other age groups. In general, limited availability of alternatives to SUPPs was the main barrier identified (23%, n  = 90), followed by their preferred products not being available plastic-free and alternatives are too expensive (21%, n  = 85 for each). Another wide impact demographic we found was vehicle ownership with significant differences in two out of five test statements ( p  < 0.05, Table  7 ), namely ‘barriers to recycling plastic’ and ‘barriers to reducing plastic’. Households with no vehicles experienced difficulty in transporting their non-collected recyclables as their key barrier to recycling more of their plastic waste. Households with one or more vehicles did not have distinctive key barriers to recycling their plastic waste more.

PABs and WDAs

One in four survey respondents will go out of their way to avoid SUPPs in everyday purchases, whereas the majority (54%) will only avoid SUPPs if an alternative option is readily available. Respondents (93%) most frequently avoided plastic shopping bags (PAB1; Fig.  5 ). Eighteen percent of respondents expressed PAB2 (refusing plastic straws) as one of their avoidance behaviours, with 57% of them saying they ‘always’ refuse plastic straws (Fig.  5 ). Some respondents reported buying in bulk to reduce excess plastic packaging (5%) and to use reusable shopping bags less frequently (6%). Only 8% of respondents stated that they use their domestic recycling bins. Again, only 8% reported using public/workplace recycling bins to dispose of their recyclable plastic waste (Fig.  5 ). The other frequently selected PABs were refusing take-away cups (14%) and avoiding personal care items containing plastic microbeads (13%; Fig.  5 ).

A rose chart showing the respondent’s PABs and how often they were expressed by the respondents (count data) based on a series of multiple-choice questions

We found that 65% of respondents often do not know how or where to recycle plastic items (Fig.  6 ). While most respondents agree (90%) that it is important to recycle (WDA3) and that littering is a serious problem that needs addressing (83.5%) (WDA1), many admit that they should do more (WDA7) to recycle (65%) (Fig.  6 ). Respondents agree that employers have a duty to provide recycling facilities in their workplace (83%) and that it is important to them that manufacturers use more recycled and sustainable materials in products (79.5%). The barriers identified by respondents to reducing their plastic intake were the price of alternative products (20%), difficulties in availability of alternatives (23%) and that their preferred products are not plastic-free (22%). The three major barriers to recycling highlighted by respondents were due to the council not collecting all items (35%), difficulties in knowing what and how to recycle (17%) and the belief that there are not enough local recycling facilities in Portsmouth (10%).

The percentage (%) of the respondents as to what extent they agree or disagree with the WDAs statements listed

Portsmouth survey respondents then identified potential incentives that might encourage them to recycle more in the future. The most dominant incentive identified was for the council to collect more types of plastic for recycling (59%). Where SUPP is easily identified as recyclable and respondents know what can and cannot be recycled (43%), then the vast majority indicated that they would make the choice to recycle them (79%). The other key incentives that were identified by respondents were having the availability of recyclable products (33%) and local recycling centre information (31%). Expansion of recycling collection facilities in the city (30%), shopping centres (28%), places of work (17%) and local events (20%) would enable improvements in recycling behaviour. Currently, ≤ 3% of respondents use cash back or deposit schemes for recycling all the SUPP types in Portsmouth, but 40% said that they would be encouraged to use these if available locally.

SUPP purchase and reuse in Portsmouth households

Plastic bags were rarely purchased by Portsmouth respondents, while the median rates for purchasing products in plastic bottles, packed in plastic film or plastic tubs were alike (RQ1; Fig.  3 A). A study in South Africa found that the purchase rate of SUPP bags amongst the majority of Durban beachgoers was < 5 per week (48%; Van Rensburg et al. 2020 ), which is significantly higher than Portsmouth respondents. Varkey et al. ( 2021 ) found that a minority (3%) of their respondents in the coastal city of Halifax, Canada, used SUPPs once a month or less. However, it was not clear whether the “use of SUPPs” metric in their survey distinguished between the purchase and the reuse rates of SUPPs. Most Portsmouth respondents (approximately 80%) used SUPPs on a daily to weekly basis. Reuse rates amongst Portsmouth respondents were the highest for bags and tubs (RQ1; Fig. 3B). In Hanoi, Vietnam, approximately 69% of plastic shopping bags had a “high rate of temporary reuse” and they were most often reused as bin liners (Liu et al. 2021 ).

In Durban, a majority of their respondents reused all of their SUPP bags (42%) or reused some of them and threw the rest away (27%; Van Rensburg et al. 2020 ). The weekly reuse rate per bag was not part of their survey. Film packaging was rarely reused by Portsmouth respondents, which may be due to the flimsy nature of plastic film packaging and due to the limited ways in which it can be reused in its current form. Portsmouth respondents are already reusing plastic products that were intended for single use such as bottles, tubs and bags. Ertz et al. ( 2017 ) reiterated the importance of providing more plastic reuse than single-use options and making reusable containers more attractive than the perceived convenience of the SUPPs. Overall, SUPP trend studies are limited and highly variable with no uniform metrics. Quantification of SUPP purchase and reuse rates separately, as used by this study, is not widespread in consumer behaviour studies. Both could be used to determine potential reuse and refill applications, while also measuring the change in SUPP consumption. An enhancement to future data collection would be to include greater exploration of why people responded with certain attitudes and behaviours towards plastics.

SUPP disposal in Portsmouth households

SUPP waste was mainly disposed of in general waste or recycling bins, or kept indefinitely for either reuse or storage purposes (RQ1; Fig.  4 ). Plastic film is not accepted for recycling in Portsmouth, leading to a high rate of disposal in general waste bins. This could be an important focus for investing in alternative innovations or implementing new regulations on film SUPPs, not only in Portsmouth but on a larger scale. This also applies to personal care items: disposable razors, toothbrushes, and cotton buds, for example, are un-reusable, unrecyclable, cannot be rehomed and are hazardous to the environment. Currently, 5% of the top ten most commonly found litter in the UK are personal care items such as cotton buds and sanitary products (Earthwatch Institute 2020 ). We found that, while not always considered as SUPPs, a vast majority of the personal care items in Portsmouth households ended up in landfill. Personal care items are frequently purchased and replaced and tend to accumulate in households over time. Alternatives to SUPP packaging and plastic-based personal care items provide opportunities for changing consumer behaviour. Clearly labelled items, recycling rules and easily accessible recycling points are essential to engage desired consumer action.

The most recycled SUPP waste were bottles and tubs (including domestic bins, public bins and recycling centres). The confusion caused by lack of clear product labelling and contradictory recycling advice on products and recycling policies are likely to be major factors in recycling compliance and are further reflected in variable consumer behaviour (Rhein and Schmid 2020 ). Consequently, recycling rates and standards can be difficult to maintain if communication about product labels and local recycling advice are conflicting, especially in the case of cross-contamination in recycling streams. In 2021, 647,000 t of recycling collected in England was rejected, due to contamination or “wish-cycling”, i.e. placing non-recyclable or not collected plastic items in the recycling bin (Callingham 2020 ; Somerville 2017 ; Valanidas 2018 ). We also observed “wish-cycling” amongst Portsmouth respondents, showing uncertainty whether those items are collected and processed by local waste management. This risks cross-contamination during the recycling process and its outputs. Low recycling rates amongst respondents and in Portsmouth overall may be due to the limited recycling collection in Portsmouth and contradictory messaging. Some respondents may feel discouraged to recycle due to the debate about the sustainability of these practices, as recycling is not a sole solution to the plastic problem, and can often complicate, delay or lead to further environmental health problems (Geyer et al. 2016 ).

A study from Burgess et al. ( 2021 ) proposed the systems-wide vision of ‘One bin to rule them all’ in the UK for the optimum recycling of household plastic items with an all-encompassing framework. This involves starting the stream of easily recyclable plastic materials into the system, removing complex mixed materials, and promoting the reuse of polymers and inclusive chemical and mechanical disposal pathways. If this out-engineering of complexity was implemented, it could be a step towards a circular plastic economy, while conserving resources through the reduction and eventual elimination of plastic leakage into the environment. However, ‘One bin to rule them all’ (Burgess et al. 2021 ) would require an internationally consistent approach, and might still encourage plastic production by promoting convenient recyclability for consumers as the solution, compared to a circular approach. The sorting and processing capacity for mixed waste is problematic in areas such as Portsmouth with limited recycling infrastructure. The information on which plastics are recyclable locally and how to recycle them needs to be clear and uniformly coherent. This should be facilitated through appropriate legislation and policy changes and collaboration with waste management service providers.

Previous research has suggested that younger people are more socially, environmentally, and culturally conscious and more readily accept innovative ideas for sustainability (Deliana and Rum 2019 ; Hume 2010 ). Unexpectedly, our findings did not support this as older respondents overall showed more effort towards reducing and reusing their SUPPs (RQ2). Age of Portsmouth respondents significantly influenced 10 out of 12 SUPP purchasing and reuse behaviours (RQ2; Table  4 ) as well as on six out of 10 of the consumer perceptions and behaviours (Table  6 ). The oldest age group (> 50 years) purchased fewer SUPPs on average and reused bags more often than the two younger age groups, whereas younger respondents reused bottles and tubs more frequently (Table  4 ).

Younger generations often have higher levels of environmental awareness, exhibit ‘green behaviours’ and are more active than older generations on environmental issues (Deliana and Rum 2019 ). These green behaviours in consumers have been defined as being more adaptive to environmentally friendly or sustainable product choices. For Portsmouth respondents, this was often the opposite, with a significantly higher proportion of the older age group saying they have made an active effort to reduce their plastic consumption than younger age groups. The older age group was also most likely to consider sustainability and ease of recycling in their product choices, while the younger generation often expressed that “it is too much hassle to recycle”. Another study on plastic packaging found that 39% of younger generations shop in zero-waste stores very often and only 6% do not plan to shop in a zero-waste initiative, compared to over half of the older generation who have never visited a zero-waste store and 29% do not plan to (Holotová et al. 2020 ). Currently, Portsmouth only has three shops with varying degrees of zero-waste business models, which was reflected in the: (1) low awareness and use of zero-waste shops amongst all respondents and (2) low use of non-plastic food wraps (PAB9, Fig.  5 ). Growing reuse behaviour and zero-waste culture needs the support of a policy framework that backs the reduction of plastic consumption and more sustainable product design to achieve a more circular economy (Steinhorst and Beyerl 2021 ). Measuring existing consumption and use behaviours will be necessary to inform the development of effective plastic policies, especially in light of the recent UNEA-5.2 resolution (UNEP 2022b ).

Age was followed by gender in significance, with an impact on six of the SUPP flow aspects (RQ2; Table  4 ). However, gender only impacted respondents' perceptions on their awareness of zero-waste stores (Table  6 ). Other UK studies have found gender to be the only significant contributor to avoidance of plastic bags and disposable coffee cups (Borg et al. 2020 ). In addition, we identified five less significant demographics and socio-economic factors: education, living situation, postcode, income and vehicle ownership, each impacting four different SUPP flow aspects, consumer perceptions and behaviours altogether. No significance was found between the education levels of respondents and their plastic product choices and sustainable attitudes and behaviours. However, a recent Dutch study found that, in addition to age, purchase decisions of consumers depended on their sustainable behaviour, knowledge of the circular economy and their perception of the usefulness of plastic (Núñez-Cacho et al. 2020 ). This was not the case in Portsmouth. Moreover, the choices of individuals have been found to be affected by personal knowledge and community behaviour (i.e. actions that society takes at different levels such as government policies and changes in the business models) (Cavaliere et al. 2020 ). Núñez-Cacho et al. ( 2020 ) found consumers with greater awareness of the impact of plastic express more concern and more effort in avoiding SUPPs. Higher education levels have also been predicted to correspond with higher levels of environmental awareness and ‘green behaviour’ (Deliana and Rum 2019 ; Zsóka et al. 2013 ).

Barriers to sustainable consumer behaviour

Transport and location accessibility were major barriers to the sustainable purchasing and recycling habits of Portsmouth respondents. Portsmouth is a low-emission transport zone and has heavily restricted parking to reduce vehicle use in the city. These restrictions could result in fewer residents owning vehicles than other city locations (ONS 2012 ), but, currently, the majority (70%) of Portsmouth respondents own vehicles. If a respondent lives within PO4–PO5 postcodes, they have greater ease of accessibility to the three zero-waste stores in Portsmouth. However, these aforementioned postcodes would require transport to recycling centres or council locations from which they are then sent to landfill sites, the MRF or an Energy Recovery Facility located further outside of the city centre. Larger stores with integrated recycling facilities or collection points for drink cartons, plastic bags, film, glass bottles, and tubs are sparsely located around the city. Although postcodes were not found to have a significant impact on recycling, owning one or more vehicles may remove many of the accessibility and transportation barriers. In turn, those barriers still exist for households without a vehicle and may prevent them from recycling more of their plastic waste. These factors might influence the attitudes and behaviours of individuals, particularly those experiencing the inconvenience or frustration with the capacity and accessibility of nearest recycling facilities.

The barriers we identified to reduce plastic consumption showed that respondents felt that they are not completely responsible for their purchase behaviours. The respondents expressed that they would like to see more environmentally friendly decisions from designers, manufacturers, and retailers, which would facilitate the reduction of plastic consumption by consumers. As plastic remains as the most prevalent packaging and product material, it is difficult for consumers to avoid it. Consumers might also be reluctant to take the sole responsibility for reducing plastic consumption as convenience is often governed by the prices and availability of sustainable alternatives. A study on the attitudes and behaviours of businesses towards plastic consumption identified cost as the biggest challenge for 86% of businesses to reduce plastics and use sustainable alternatives (Varkey et al. 2021 ). Moreover, Carrete et al. ( 2012 ) identified three main themes causing uncertainty in consumers for adopting green behaviours: (1) consumer confusion, (2) trust and credibility, and (3) compatibility with individuals’ values. Future surveys should include these themes for more comprehensive insights.

We found four key PABs expressed by Portsmouth respondents (RQ3): the refusal of plastic shopping bags, refusal of plastic straws, refusal of plastic take-away cups and avoidance of personal care products containing plastic microbeads (Fig.  5 ). Unexpectedly, recycling their plastic waste at home or in public bins was only expressed by approximately 8% of the respondents in this section of the survey. Based on our study, we could classify behaviours as low-effort or high-effort behaviours. In low-effort behaviours, decisions are easily and quickly made during shopping or dining that do not require deep reflection beforehand (Jacobsen et al. 2022 ), including our four key PABs. These decisions are premade by the businesses through their provision (or lack) of alternatives. Safety concerns such as preventing COVID-19 spread can also result in preferring single-use plastics to reuse or non-plastic options even after reduced risk of transmission (Winton et al. 2022 ). Conversely, the high-effort behaviours need the backing of external infrastructure and policies (e.g. recycling), require space (i.e. buying in bulk) or can be more expensive and inaccessible to some (i.e. choosing plastic alternatives or zero-waste approaches) (Löhr et al. 2017 ; Sandhu et al. 2021 ; Tadesse et al. 2008 ). Our findings suggest that, when avoiding plastic, consumers are more likely to exhibit low-effort behaviours than high-effort behaviours. This may be due to busy lifestyles, inaccessible infrastructure for zero-waste shopping and recycling, or not being able to prioritise SUPP avoidance for socio-economic reasons (e.g. income, number of dependents in a household). This is a key aspect that could be investigated further in future research.

In regard to WDAs, in general, Portsmouth respondents showed willingness to recycle as much as they can and possessed a strong sense of responsibility around recycling (RQ3; Fig.  6 ). They also admitted to being confused about recycling advice and concerned about the state of littering in Portsmouth. Overall, respondents agreed with most of the WDA statements, such as the importance of recycling, littering being a serious problem and that they should do more to recycle, which suggests that they have a strong perception of responsible disposal behaviours (Fig.  6 ). A UK case study conducted in Exeter examined similar WDBs and attitudes finding ~ 68% of respondents buy products with as little packaging as possible (Barr 2007 ) compared to 5% of Portsmouth respondents who said they avoid pre-packed plastic food products. Approximately 56% of Exeter respondents said that they use their own bag and avoid buying shopping bags, compared to 19% of Portsmouth respondents that refuse plastic shopping bags. Recycling habits also varied significantly between the two cities with 70% of Exeter respondents recycling plastic bottles and only 8% of Portsmouth residents recycling their plastic waste in domestic, public and workplace recycling bins. Another coastal city study found beach goers with a higher environmental awareness had a more negative perception towards SUPPs and a stronger willingness to reduce their plastic consumption (Van Rensburg et al. 2020 ). These individuals also showed greater support for initiatives to combat plastic waste such as container deposit systems and plastic bag bans. Pay-as-you-throw schemes could be another option to encourage consumers to reduce and sort their plastic waste.

Awareness is an important part of SUPP consumer behaviour. Both retailers and customers are often aware of environmental issues associated with plastic, while a lack of awareness can take away momentum from behaviour change. 75% of Portsmouth residents were unaware of the local climate action group, 62% were unaware of the main zero-waste store and 21% did not believe that any of their plastic waste ends up in the ocean. If the consumption of SUPPs is to be reduced, raising awareness of the impacts of plastic should be a part of future shifts towards circularity, especially in densely populated coastal cities. The road should be paved by national and local governments to facilitate the transition to a circular economy amongst consumers and businesses. However, consumers still appreciate the purpose and convenience of plastic products and continue to routinely use them as they feel that there is a lack of feasible alternatives on offer from the producers and retailers to make these changes (Heidbreder et al. 2019 ).

Study limitations and future research recommendations

Establishing each flow of different plastic items through a household accurately from purchase to disposal at home is difficult. In hindsight, the questionnaire was not structured in a way that would have allowed for extensive statistical analysis or modelling the flow of SUPP items through households. To enable this in future studies, a coherent survey structure with similar questions for purchase, reuse and disposal is recommended. Questions about consumers' awareness of important concepts such as circular economy would be useful to infer their influence on consumer behaviour as other studies have shown (Núñez-Cacho et al. 2020 ; Cavaliere et al. 2020 ). Specificity was another issue. Questions should be clear and specific about the plastic focus. Switching the focus from SUPPs to fast-moving consumer goods to incorporate other commonly used plastics such as personal care items and delivery packaging could also add value to future research. Another possible avenue is to group all SUPP items together to analyse consumer behaviour towards SUPPs in a more general but comprehensive way. Other unpreferable end-of-life destinations for plastic waste could be introduced for any unaccounted-for plastic in the flow such as irresponsible littering or dumping to monitor plastic pollution rates and to pinpoint the extent of plastic waste mismanagement. This study was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic; therefore, purchase rates of SUPPs may have been higher than usual. However, there are no peer-reviewed studies or official data available on SUPP purchases in Portsmouth from before the pandemic. Therefore, it was not possible to compare Portsmouth-specific trends in a pandemic-context.

Conclusions

The findings from this study have enabled an enhanced understanding of SUPP purchase, use and disposal trends in Portsmouth. The results demonstrate the value in researching which actions generate the most beneficial behaviour change amongst consumers. However, we recognise that consumers are not the target stakeholder carrying the responsibility for systemic change. While this study was purely exploratory in nature and provides an example of how the role of SUPPs in households could be researched, it has become clear that the way consumer behaviour around plastics has been studied to date is in need of increased standardisation through:

uniform measurement units for plastic items to enable realistic comparisons,

robust but comprehensive questionnaires for analysis and modelling purposes,

survey databases from research across the globe to model and track how plastic products flow through households, which would also act as a valuable resource for the research community.

These standardisations could significantly improve the mapping of both behaviour and policy change options. While also informing governments and other stakeholders whether or not their current products, practices and policies are, in fact, viable or in need of redesign or amendments. As plastics are largely universal both in the sense of utilisation and pollution, the solutions to mitigate against the negative impacts of plastics must also be widely applied.

Data availability statement

Data from this study is available on request from the corresponding author.

Change history

16 february 2023.

A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-023-01305-4

Abbreviations

Materials’ recovery facility

Plastic avoidance behaviour

Single-use plastic product

Waste disposal attitude

Waste disposal behaviour

Adeyanju GC, Augustine TM, Volkmann S, Oyebamiji UA, Ran S, Osobajo OA, Otitoju A (2021) Effectiveness of intervention on behaviour change against use of non-biodegradable plastic bags: a systematic review. Discov Sustain 2(1):1–15. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43621-021-00015-0

Article   Google Scholar  

Barr S (2007) Factors influencing environmental attitudes and behaviours: a UK case study of household waste management. Environ Behav 39(4):435–473. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013916505283421

Bergmann M, Collard F, Fabres J, Gabrielsen GW, Provencher JF, Rochman CM et al (2022) Plastic pollution in the Arctic. Nat Rev Earth Environ 3(5):323–337. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43017-022-00279-8

Article   CAS   Google Scholar  

Borg K, Curtis J, Lindsay J (2020) Social norms and plastic avoidance: testing the theory of normative social behaviour on an environmental behaviour. J Consum Behav 19(6):594–607. https://doi.org/10.1002/cb.1842

Borrelle SB, Ringma J, Law KL, Monnahan CC, Lebreton L, McGivern A et al (2020) Predicted growth in plastic waste exceeds efforts to mitigate plastic pollution. Science 369(6510):1515–1518. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aba3656

Bucknall DG (2020) Plastics as a materials system in a circular economy. Philos Trans R Soc A 378(2176):20190268. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2019.0268

Burgess M, Holmes H, Sharmina M, Shaver MP (2021) The future of UK plastics recycling: one bin to rule them all. Resour Conserv Recycl 164:105191. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2020.105191

Callingham F (2020) Inside Portsmouth’s incinerator and recycling centre—what happens to your rubbish and recycling. The News. Portsmouth. https://www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/politics/inside-portsmouths-incinerator-and-recycling-centre-what-happens-to-your-rubbish-and-recycling-1883786 . Accessed 28 Aug 2022

Carrete L, Castaño R, Felix R, Centeno E, González E (2012) Green consumer behavior in an emerging economy: confusion, credibility, and compatibility. J Consum Mark 29(7):470–481. https://doi.org/10.1108/07363761211274983

Cavaliere A, Pigliafreddo S, De Marchi E, Banterle A (2020) Do consumers really want to reduce plastic usage? Exploring the determinants of plastic avoidance in food-related consumption decisions. Sustainability 12(22):9627. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12229627

Center for International Environmental Law (2019) Plastic & climate: the hidden costs of a plastic planet. https://www.ciel.org/reports/plastic-health-the-hidden-costs-of-a-plastic-planet-may-2019/ . Accessed 28 Aug 2022

Crippa M, De Wilde B, Koopmans R, Leyssens J, Muncke J, Ritschkoff AC, Van Doorsselaer K, Velis C, Wagner M (2019) A circular economy for plastics: insights from research and innovation to inform policy and funding decisions. https://doi.org/10.2777/269031

Deliana Y, Rum IA (2019) How does perception on green environment across generations affect consumer behaviour? A neural network process. Int J Consum Stud 43(4):358–367. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijcs.12515

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) (2018) Our waste, our resources: a strategy for England. GOV.UK. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/765914/resources-waste-strategy-dec-2018.pdf . Accessed 28 Aug 2022

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) (2019) Single use plastic: banning the distribution and/or sale of plastic straws, stirrers and plastic-stemmed cotton buds in England. GOV.UK. https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/single-use-plastic-banning-the-distribution-andor-sale-of-plastic-straws-stirrers-and-plastic-stemmed-cotton-buds-in-england#full-publication-update-history . Accessed 28 Aug 2022

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) (2021) UK statistics on waste. GOV.UK. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1002246/UK_stats_on_waste_statistical_notice_July2021_accessible_FINAL.pdf . Accessed 28 Aug 2022

Earthwatch Institute (2020) Plastic rivers: reducing the plastic pollution on our doorstep. Earthwatch. https://earthwatch.org.uk/images/plastic/PlasticRiversReport.pdf . Accessed 28 Aug 2022

Ertz M, Huang R, Jo MS, Karakas F, Sarigöllü E (2017) From single-use to multi-use: study of consumers’ behavior toward consumption of reusable containers. J Environ Manag 193:334–344. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2017.01.060

Geyer R (2020) Production, use, and fate of synthetic polymers. In: Letcher TM (ed) Plastic waste and recycling. Academic Press, Cambridge, pp 13–32. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-817880-5.00002-5

Chapter   Google Scholar  

Geyer R, Kuczenski B, Zink T, Henderson A (2016) Common misconceptions about recycling. J Ind Ecol 20(5):1010–1017. https://doi.org/10.1111/jiec.12355

Geyer R, Jambeck JR, Law KL (2017) Production, use, and fate of all plastics ever made. Sci Adv 3(7):e1700782. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.1700782

Hahladakis JN, Purnell P, Iacovidou E, Velis CA, Atseyinku M (2018) Post-consumer plastic packaging waste in England: assessing the yield of multiple collection-recycling schemes. Waste Manag 75:149–159. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2018.02.009

Heidbreder LM, Bablok I, Drews S, Menzel C (2019) Tackling the plastic problem: a review on perceptions, behaviors, and interventions. Sci Total Environ 668:1077–1093. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.02.437

Holotová M, Nagyová Ľ, Holota T (2020) The impact of environmental responsibility on changing consumer behaviour—sustainable market in Slovakia. Econ Sociol 13(3):84–96

Hume M (2010) Compassion without action: examining the young consumers consumption and attitude to sustainable consumption. J World Bus 45(4):385–394. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jwb.2009.08.007

Integra (2019) Waste composition analysis update. Integra. https://documents.hants.gov.uk/project-integra/WasteCompositionAnalysisUpdate-February2019.pdf . Accessed 28 Aug 2022

International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) (2022) UNEA resolution—‘End Plastic Pollution’—and IUCN role in implementation of the Treaty. https://www.iucn.org/news/marine-and-polar/202203/unea-resolution-end-plastic-pollution-and-iucn-role-implementation-treaty . Accessed 28 Aug 2022

Jacobsen LF, Pedersen S, Thøgersen J (2022) Drivers of and barriers to consumers’ plastic packaging waste avoidance and recycling—a systematic literature review. Waste Manag 141:63–78. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2022.01.021

Jambeck JR, Geyer R, Wilcox C, Siegler TR, Perryman M, Andrady A, Narayan R, Law KL (2015) Plastic waste inputs from land into the ocean. Science 347(6223):768–771. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1260352

Khan MS, Saengon P, Alganad AMN, Chongcharoen D, Farrukh M (2020) Consumer green behaviour: an approach towards environmental sustainability. Sustain Dev 28(5):1168–1180. https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.2066

Kitz R, Walker T, Charlebois S, Music J (2022) Food packaging during the COVID-19 pandemic: consumer perceptions. Int J Consum Stud 46(2):434–448. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijcs.12691

Lebreton L, Andrady A (2019) Future scenarios of global plastic waste generation and disposal. Palgrave Commun 5(1):1–11. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-018-0212-7

Letsrecycle (2021) 2020/2021 Overall performance: annual recycling league table for England. https://www.letsrecycle.com/councils/league-tables/2020-21-overall-performance-2/ . Accessed 28 Aug 2022

Liu C, Nguyen TT, Ishimura Y (2021) Current situation and key challenges on the use of single-use plastic in Hanoi. Waste Manag 121:422–431. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2020.12.033

Löhr A, Savelli H, Beunen R, Kalz M, Ragas A, Van Belleghem F (2017) Solutions for global marine litter pollution. Curr Opin Environ Sustain 28:90–99. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cosust.2017.08.009

Mason SA, Welch VG, Neratko J (2018) Synthetic polymer contamination in bottled water. Front Chem. https://doi.org/10.3389/fchem.2018.00407

Núñez-Cacho P, Leyva-Díaz JC, Sánchez-Molina J, Van der Gun R (2020) Plastics and sustainable purchase decisions in a circular economy: the case of Dutch food industry. PLoS One 15(9):e0239949. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0239949

O’Brien J, Thondhlana G (2019) Plastic bag use in South Africa: perceptions, practices and potential intervention strategies. Waste Manag 84:320–328. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2018.11.051

Ocean Conservancy and International Coastal Cleanup (2017) Together for our ocean: international coastal cleanup 2017 report. https://oceanconservancy.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/International-Coastal-Cleanup_2017-Report.pdf . Accessed 28 Aug 2022

Office for National Statistics (ONS) (2012) 2011 Census: key statistics for England and Wales, March 2011; car or van availability. ONS.GOV.UK. https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/populationestimates/bulletins/2011censuskeystatisticsforenglandandwales/2012-12-11#car-or-van-availability . Accessed 28 Aug 2022

Office for National Statistics (2021) Estimates of the population for the UK, England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland: mid-2020. https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/populationestimates/datasets/populationestimatesforukenglandandwalesscotlandandnorthernireland . Accessed 28 Aug 2022

Portsmouth City Council (2022) Recycling and rubbish. https://www.portsmouth.gov.uk/services/recycling-and-rubbish/

R Core Team (2022) R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria. https://www.R-project.org/

Rhein S, Schmid M (2020) Consumers’ awareness of plastic packaging: more than just environmental concerns. Resour Conserv Recycl 162:105063. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2020.105063

Roberts KP, Phang SC, Williams JB, Hutchinson DJ, Kolstoe SE, de Bie J et al (2022) Increased personal protective equipment litter as a result of COVID-19 measures. Nat Sustain 5(3):272–279. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-021-00824-1

Sandhu S, Lodhia S, Potts A, Crocker R (2021) Environment friendly takeaway coffee cup use: individual and institutional enablers and barriers. J Clean Prod 291:125271. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.125271

Sharma HB, Vanapalli KR, Cheela VS, Ranjan VP, Jaglan AK, Dubey B et al (2020) Challenges, opportunities, and innovations for effective solid waste management during and post COVID-19 pandemic. Resour Conserv Recycl. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2020.105052

Shen M, Huang W, Chen M, Song B, Zeng G, Zhang Y (2020) (Micro) plastic crisis: un-ignorable contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions and climate change. J Clean Prod 254:120138. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.120138

Silva ALP, Prata JC, Walker TR, Duarte AC, Ouyang W, Barcelò D, Rocha-Santos T (2021) Increased plastic pollution due to COVID-19 pandemic: challenges and recommendations. Chem Eng J 405:126683. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2020.126683

Smith L (2022) Plastic waste (House of Commons Library Research Briefing 8515). https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-8515/CBP-8515.pdf . Accessed 28 Aug 2022

Somerville M (2017) 3 Big reasons “Wishcycling” is always a bad idea. Earth911. https://earth911.com/living-well-being/wish-cycling/ . Accessed 28 Aug 2022

Steinhorst J, Beyerl K (2021) First reduce and reuse, then recycle! Enabling consumers to tackle the plastic crisis—qualitative expert interviews in Germany. J Clean Prod 313:127782. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.127782

Tadesse T, Ruijs A, Hagos F (2008) Household waste disposal in Mekelle city, Northern Ethiopia. Waste Manag 28(10):2003–2012. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2007.08.015

The Pew Charitable Trusts and SYSTEMIQ (2020) Breaking the plastic wave: a comprehensive assessment of pathways towards stopping ocean plastic pollution. https://www.pewtrusts.org/-/media/assets/2020/10/breakingtheplasticwave_mainreport.pdf . Accessed 28 Aug 2022

Thomas GO, Sautkina E, Poortinga W, Wolstenholme E, Whitmarsh L (2019) The English plastic bag charge changed behavior and increased support for other charges to reduce plastic waste. Front Psychol 10:266. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00266

Timlett RE, Williams ID (2009) The impact of transient populations on recycling behaviour in a densely populated urban environment. Resour Conserv Recycl 53(9):498–506. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2009.03.010

Tiseo I (2021) Volume of plastic waste exported from the UK 2020, by select country. Statista. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1124988/plastics-waste-export-destination-volume-united-kingdom-uk/ . Accessed 28 Aug 2022

United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) (2022a) What you need to know about the plastic pollution resolution. https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/what-you-need-know-about-plastic-pollution-resolution . Accessed 28 Aug 2022

United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) (2022b) Draft resolution: end plastic pollution: towards and international legally binding instrument. United Nations Environment Assembly. https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/38522/k2200647_-_unep-ea-5-l-23-rev-1_-_advance.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y . Accessed 28 Aug 2022

Valanidas M (2018) A place for plastics: bioplastics, bacteria and our thoughtless acts. Masters Thesis, Rhode Island School of Design. Digital Commons. https://digitalcommons.risd.edu/masterstheses/241/ . Accessed 28 Aug 2022

Van Rensburg ML, Nkomo SL, Dube T (2020) The ‘plastic waste era’; social perceptions towards single-use plastic consumption and impacts on the marine environment in Durban, South Africa. Appl Geogr 114:102132. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeog.2019.102132

Vanapalli KR, Sharma HB, Ranjan VP, Samal B, Bhattacharya J, Dubey BK, Goel S (2021) Challenges and strategies for effective plastic waste management during and post COVID-19 pandemic. Sci Total Environ 750:141514. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.141514

Varkey PS, Walker TR, Saunders SJ (2021) Identifying barriers to reducing single-use plastic use in a coastal metropolitan city in Canada. Ocean Coast Manag 210:105663. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2021.105663

Walker TR, McGuinty E, Charlebois S, Music J (2021) Single-use plastic packaging in the Canadian food industry: consumer behavior and perceptions. Humanit Soc Sci Commun 8(1):1–11. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-021-00747-4

Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) (2018) WRAP annual review. https://wrap.org.uk/sites/default/files/2020-09/WRAP-Annual-Review-April-2018-March-2019.pdf . Accessed 28 Aug 2022

Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) (2020a) A framework for greater consistency in household recycling in England. https://wrap.org.uk/sites/default/files/2020-08/WRAP-framework-for-greater-consistency-in-household-recycling-England.pdf . Accessed 28 Aug 2022

Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) (2020b) A roadmap to 2025: the UK plastics pact. https://wrap.org.uk/resources/guide/roadmap-2025-uk-plastics-pact . Accessed 28 Aug 2022

Welden NA (2020) The environmental impacts of plastic pollution. In: Letcher TM (Ed). Plastic waste and recycling. Academic Press, Cambridge, pp 195–222. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-817880-5.00008-6

Winton D, Marazzi L, Loiselle S (2022) Drivers of public plastic (mis) use—new insights from changes in single-use plastic usage during the Covid-19 pandemic. Sci Total Environ. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.157672

Zhao C, Liu M, Du H, Gong Y (2021) The evolutionary trend and impact of global plastic waste trade network. Sustainability 13(7):3662. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13073662

Zsóka Á, Szerényi ZM, Széchy A, Kocsis T (2013) Greening due to environmental education? Environmental knowledge, attitudes, consumer behaviour and everyday pro-environmental activities of Hungarian high school and university students. J Clean Prod 48:126–138. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2012.11.030

Download references

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the Global Plastics Policy Centre team for their support and proofreading of this paper and the funding from the University of Portsmouth to deliver this study. We would like to thank Red Brick for recruiting participants and disseminating the survey in Portsmouth.

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

Global Plastics Policy Centre, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, UK

Stephanie Lucy Northen, Laura Karoliina Nieminen, Serena Cunsolo, Steven Kator Iorfa, Keiron Philip Roberts & Stephen Fletcher

School of the Environment, Geography and Geosciences, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, UK

Stephen Fletcher

School of Civil Engineering and Surveying, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, UK

Serena Cunsolo & Keiron Philip Roberts

Portsmouth Business School, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, UK

Steven Kator Iorfa

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Contributions

SLN: methodology, formal analysis, investigation and writing—original draft. LKN: methodology, formal analysis, investigation and writing—original draft. SC: methodology and writing—original draft. SKI: validation and writing—review and editing. KPR: conceptualisation, methodology and supervision. SF: conceptualisation and funding acquisition.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Stephanie Lucy Northen .

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest.

The authors declare no competing interests.

Additional information

Handled by Noe Aguilar-Rivera, Universidad Veracruzana, Mexico.

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

The original online version of this article was revised due to corresponding author's name was published incorrectly and corrected in this version.

Supplementary Information

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary file1 (PDF 369 KB)

Supplementary file2 (pdf 563 kb), rights and permissions.

Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ .

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Northen, S.L., Nieminen, L.K., Cunsolo, S. et al. From shops to bins: a case study of consumer attitudes and behaviours towards plastics in a UK coastal city. Sustain Sci 18 , 1379–1395 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-022-01261-5

Download citation

Received : 06 May 2022

Accepted : 27 October 2022

Published : 30 January 2023

Issue Date : May 2023

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-022-01261-5

Share this article

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

• Single-use plastics
• Recycling rate
• Household waste generation
• Sustainable consumption
• Circularity

Advertisement

• Find a journal
• Publish with us
• Track your research

BUS 5656 Consumer Behavior

• Week 1 Introduction to Consumer Behavior (Ch. 1)
• Week 2 External Influences: Cultural and Social (Ch.2-4)
• Week 3 External Influences: Subcultures, Households and Reference Groups (Ch.5-7)
• Week 4 Internal Influences: Perception, Learning and Memory (Ch.8-10)
• Week 5 Internal Influences: Attitudes and self-concept (Ch11-12)
• Week 6 Decision Process: Situational influences, Problem Recognition, Information Search (Ch.13-15)
• Week 7 Decision Process: Alternative Evaluations, Outlet Selection and Purchase, (Ch.16-18)
• Week 8 Organizations as consumers, Consumers behavior and regulation (Ch.19-20)

Case Study Assignment

Academic writer - your starting point for all things apa citation style.

• Academic Writer This link opens in a new window A digital platform for writing research papers and managing references in APA Style through full integration of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association . Individual user accounts are required to write papers and save references. Training materials are available from the APA.

Select one of the supplied case studies to analyze.  Read the article first, before you prepare to respond to the questions.  Your analysis of the case should be 3-4 pages, double-spaced and include 3-5 peer-reviewed references (in addition to the text) to support your analysis. Use APA format for references and format of the paper.

Supplied cases: These case studies can be found in the library collection. See the "How to access articles in the Evans Library" box below to learn how to find these cases and more!

•  Tian, K. and Tian, R. G. (2011). Food consumption and cultural awareness: An anthropological case study of consumer behavior at a Chinese restaurant. Journal of Marketing Development & Competitiveness, 5(4), 51-69.
• Moran, M. B., PhD., Walker, M. W., DrP.H., Alexander, T. N., PhD., Jordan, J. W., M.A., & Wagner, D. E., Ph.D. (2017). Why peer crowds matter: Incorporating youth subcultures and values in health education campaigns . American Journal of Public Health , 107(3), 389-395.  
• Warner, L. A., Lamm, A. J., Rumble, J. N., Martin, E. T., & Cantrell, R. (2016). Classifying residents who use landscape irrigation: Implications for encouraging water conservation behavior . Environmental Management , 58(2), 238-253. 

Organize your paper in the following sections:

• Identify the key problems and issues in the case study.
• Formulate and include a thesis statement, summarizing the outcome of your analysis in 1–2 sentences.
• Set the scene: background information, relevant facts, and the most important issues.
• Use addition research to define the problems in this case study.
• Explain in detail the external factors that are influencing consumer behavior in the case.
• Explain how the external factors are addressed in the campaign or situation. 
• Also, explain what external factors were not addressed in the campaign or situation.
• Describe the solution that was used in the case to address the targeted external factors.
• Explain why this solution was chosen
• Also explain alternative external factors that could have been addressed.
• Use concepts from class (text readings, discussions, lectures), outside research and possibly personal experience (anecdotes)
• Based on the solutions that were used in the case and the additional external factors your identified, make recommendations for how the campaign should have been developed or what should be done in the future. 
• << Previous: Week 8 Organizations as consumers, Consumers behavior and regulation (Ch.19-20)
• Last Updated: Jan 10, 2024 12:23 PM
• URL: https://libguides.lib.fit.edu/BUS5656ConsumerBehavior

• Harvard Business School →
• Faculty & Research →
• January 2005 (Revised June 2005)
• HBS Case Collection

Zipcar: Influencing Customer Behavior

• Format: Print

About The Author

Frances X. Frei

More from the authors.

• November–December 2023
• Harvard Business Review

Storytelling That Drives Bold Change

• Faculty Research

Move Fast and Fix Things: The Trusted Leader's Guide to Solving Hard Problems

Bringing ideas to life: the story of paul english.

• Storytelling That Drives Bold Change  By: Frances X. Frei and Anne Morriss
• Move Fast and Fix Things: The Trusted Leader's Guide to Solving Hard Problems  By: Frances X. Frei and Anne Morriss
• Bringing Ideas to Life: The Story of Paul English  By: Youngme Moon, Frances X. Frei and F. Katelynn Boland

Fern Fort University

Tivo in 2002: consumer behavior case study analysis & solution, harvard business case studies solutions - assignment help.

TiVo in 2002: Consumer Behavior is a Harvard Business (HBR) Case Study on Sales & Marketing , Fern Fort University provides HBR case study assignment help for just $11. Our case solution is based on Case Study Method expertise & our global insights.

Sales & Marketing Case Study | Authors :: Luc Wathieu, Michael Zoglio

Case study description.

Brodie Keast is anxious to understand the sharp contrast between the inertia of prospects and the deep emotional response shown by converted users of TiVo. After an overview of the company's situation and problems, the case focuses on different kinds of data (sales results, satisfaction and usage data, purchase influence, demographics, attitude data, and behavioral data) and explains how that data emerged over time as the company was more and more pressured to explore the essence of its value proposition.

Order a Sales & Marketing case study solution now

To Search More HBR Case Studies Solution Go to Fern Fort University Search Page

[10 Steps] Case Study Analysis & Solution

Step 1 - reading up harvard business review fundamentals on the sales & marketing.

Even before you start reading a business case study just make sure that you have brushed up the Harvard Business Review (HBR) fundamentals on the Sales & Marketing. Brushing up HBR fundamentals will provide a strong base for investigative reading. Often readers scan through the business case study without having a clear map in mind. This leads to unstructured learning process resulting in missed details and at worse wrong conclusions. Reading up the HBR fundamentals helps in sketching out business case study analysis and solution roadmap even before you start reading the case study. It also provides starting ideas as fundamentals often provide insight into some of the aspects that may not be covered in the business case study itself.

Step 2 - Reading the TiVo in 2002: Consumer Behavior HBR Case Study

To write an emphatic case study analysis and provide pragmatic and actionable solutions, you must have a strong grasps of the facts and the central problem of the HBR case study. Begin slowly - underline the details and sketch out the business case study description map. In some cases you will able to find the central problem in the beginning itself while in others it may be in the end in form of questions. Business case study paragraph by paragraph mapping will help you in organizing the information correctly and provide a clear guide to go back to the case study if you need further information. My case study strategy involves -

• Marking out the protagonist and key players in the case study from the very start.
• Drawing a motivation chart of the key players and their priorities from the case study description.
• Refine the central problem the protagonist is facing in the case and how it relates to the HBR fundamentals on the topic.
• Evaluate each detail in the case study in light of the HBR case study analysis core ideas.

Step 3 - TiVo in 2002: Consumer Behavior Case Study Analysis

Once you are comfortable with the details and objective of the business case study proceed forward to put some details into the analysis template. You can do business case study analysis by following Fern Fort University step by step instructions -

• Company history is provided in the first half of the case. You can use this history to draw a growth path and illustrate vision, mission and strategic objectives of the organization. Often history is provided in the case not only to provide a background to the problem but also provide the scope of the solution that you can write for the case study.
• HBR case studies provide anecdotal instances from managers and employees in the organization to give a feel of real situation on the ground. Use these instances and opinions to mark out the organization's culture, its people priorities & inhibitions.
• Make a time line of the events and issues in the case study. Time line can provide the clue for the next step in organization's journey. Time line also provides an insight into the progressive challenges the company is facing in the case study.

Step 4 - SWOT Analysis of TiVo in 2002: Consumer Behavior

Once you finished the case analysis, time line of the events and other critical details. Focus on the following -

• Zero down on the central problem and two to five related problems in the case study.
• Do the SWOT analysis of the TiVo in 2002: Consumer Behavior . SWOT analysis is a strategic tool to map out the strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats that a firm is facing.
• SWOT analysis and SWOT Matrix will help you to clearly mark out - Strengths Weakness Opportunities & Threats that the organization or manager is facing in the TiVo in 2002: Consumer Behavior
• SWOT analysis will also provide a priority list of problem to be solved.
• You can also do a weighted SWOT analysis of TiVo in 2002: Consumer Behavior HBR case study.

Step 5 - Porter 5 Forces / Strategic Analysis of Industry Analysis TiVo in 2002: Consumer Behavior

In our live classes we often come across business managers who pinpoint one problem in the case and build a case study analysis and solution around that singular point. Business environments are often complex and require holistic solutions. You should try to understand not only the organization but also the industry which the business operates in. Porter Five Forces is a strategic analysis tool that will help you in understanding the relative powers of the key players in the business case study and what sort of pragmatic and actionable case study solution is viable in the light of given facts.

Step 6 - PESTEL, PEST / STEP Analysis of TiVo in 2002: Consumer Behavior

Another way of understanding the external environment of the firm in TiVo in 2002: Consumer Behavior is to do a PESTEL - Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental & Legal analysis of the environment the firm operates in. You should make a list of factors that have significant impact on the organization and factors that drive growth in the industry. You can even identify the source of firm's competitive advantage based on PESTEL analysis and Organization's Core Competencies.

Step 7 - Organizing & Prioritizing the Analysis into TiVo in 2002: Consumer Behavior Case Study Solution

Once you have developed multipronged approach and work out various suggestions based on the strategic tools. The next step is organizing the solution based on the requirement of the case. You can use the following strategy to organize the findings and suggestions.

• Build a corporate level strategy - organizing your findings and recommendations in a way to answer the larger strategic objective of the firm. It include using the analysis to answer the company's vision, mission and key objectives , and how your suggestions will take the company to next level in achieving those goals.
• Business Unit Level Solution - The case study may put you in a position of a marketing manager of a small brand. So instead of providing recommendations for overall company you need to specify the marketing objectives of that particular brand. You have to recommend business unit level recommendations. The scope of the recommendations will be limited to the particular unit but you have to take care of the fact that your recommendations are don't directly contradict the company's overall strategy. For example you can recommend a low cost strategy but the company core competency is design differentiation.
• Case study solutions can also provide recommendation for the business manager or leader described in the business case study.

Step 8 -Implementation Framework

The goal of the business case study is not only to identify problems and recommend solutions but also to provide a framework to implement those case study solutions. Implementation framework differentiates good case study solutions from great case study solutions. If you able to provide a detailed implementation framework then you have successfully achieved the following objectives -

• Detailed understanding of the case,
• Clarity of HBR case study fundamentals,
• Analyzed case details based on those fundamentals and
• Developed an ability to prioritize recommendations based on probability of their successful implementation.

Implementation framework helps in weeding out non actionable recommendations, resulting in awesome TiVo in 2002: Consumer Behavior case study solution.

Step 9 - Take a Break

Once you finished the case study implementation framework. Take a small break, grab a cup of coffee or whatever you like, go for a walk or just shoot some hoops.

Step 10 - Critically Examine TiVo in 2002: Consumer Behavior case study solution

After refreshing your mind, read your case study solution critically. When we are writing case study solution we often have details on our screen as well as in our head. This leads to either missing details or poor sentence structures. Once refreshed go through the case solution again - improve sentence structures and grammar, double check the numbers provided in your analysis and question your recommendations. Be very slow with this process as rushing through it leads to missing key details. Once done it is time to hit the attach button.

Previous 5 HBR Case Study Solution

• CW: Launching a Television Network Case Study Solution
• Maria Sharapova: Marketing a Champion (B) Case Study Solution
• Art Online Case Study Solution
• Business of Golf: Islington Golf Club Case Study Solution
• Daktronics (B): The Large Sports Venue Sales Channel Case Study Solution

Next 5 HBR Case Study Solution

• Sports Agents: Is There a Firm Advantage? Case Study Solution
• Comedy Nights with Kapil: Maintaining Value Creation Case Study Solution
• LeBron James Case Study Solution
• The Tate's Digital Transformation Case Study Solution
• Are Movie Theaters Doomed? Do Exhibitors see the Big Picture as Theaters lose their Competitive Edge? Case Study Solution

Special Offers

Order custom Harvard Business Case Study Analysis & Solution. Starting just $19

Amazing Business Data Maps. Send your data or let us do the research. We make the greatest data maps.

We make beautiful, dynamic charts, heatmaps, co-relation plots, 3D plots & more.

Buy Professional PPT templates to impress your boss

Nobody get fired for buying our Business Reports Templates. They are just awesome.

• More Services

Feel free to drop us an email

• fernfortuniversity[@]gmail.com
• (000) 000-0000

Business Case Studies, Consumer Behaviour Case Study

Ibs ® case development centre, asia-pacific's largest repository of management case studies.

Forgot Password | Change Password

MBA Course Case Maps

• Business Models
• Blue Ocean Strategy
• Competition & Strategy ⁄ Competitive Strategies
• Core Competency & Competitive Advantage
• Corporate Strategy
• Corporate Transformation
• Diversification Strategies
• Going Global & Managing Global Businesses
• Growth Strategies
• Industry Analysis
• Managing In Troubled Times ⁄ Managing a Crisis ⁄ Product Recalls
• Market Entry Strategies
• Mergers, Acquisitions & Takeovers
• Product Recalls
• Restructuring / Turnaround Strategies
• Strategic Alliances, Collaboration & Joint Ventures
• Supply Chain Management
• Value Chain Analysis
• Vision, Mission & Goals
• Global Retailers
• Indian Retailing
• Brands & Branding and Private Labels
• Brand ⁄ Marketing Communication Strategies and Advertising & Promotional Strategies
• Consumer Behaviour
• Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
• Marketing Research
• Marketing Strategies ⁄ Strategic Marketing
• Positioning, Repositioning, Reverse Positioning Strategies
• Sales & Distribution
• Services Marketing
• Economic Crisis
• Fiscal Policy
• Government & Business Environment
• Macroeconomics
• Micro ⁄ Business ⁄ Managerial Economics
• Monetary Policy
• Public-Private Partnership
• Financial Management & Corporate Finance
• Investment & Banking
• Leadership,Organizational Change & CEOs
• Succession Planning
• Corporate Governance & Business Ethics
• Corporate Social Responsibility
• International Trade & Finance
• Entrepreneurship
• Family Businesses
• Social Entrepreneurship
• HRM ⁄ Organizational Behaviour
• Innovation & New Product Development
• Business Research Methods
• Operations & Project Management
• Operations Management
• Quantitative Methods
• Social Networking
• China-related Cases
• India-related Cases
• Women Executives ⁄ CEO's
• Course Case Maps
• Effective Executive Interviews
• Video Interviews

Executive Brief

• Movie Based Case Studies
• Case Catalogues
• Case studies in Other Languages
• Multimedia Case Studies
• Textbook Adoptions
• Customized Categories
• Free Case Studies
• Faculty Zone
• Student Zone
• By CaseCode
• By CaseTitle
• By Industry
• By Keywords

Case Categories

• Corporate Governance & Business Ethics
• Government & Business Environment
• Micro \ Business \ Managerial Economics
• Finance, Accounting & Control
• Financial Management & Corporate Finance
• Investment and Banking
• Human Resource Management (HRM) \ Organizational Behaviour
• Innovation & New Product Development
• International Trade & Finance
• Leadership, Organizational Change and CEOs
• Brands & Branding and Private Labels
• Brand \ Marketing Communication Strategies and Advertising & Promotional Strategies
• Marketing Strategies \ Strategic Marketing
• Sales & Distribution
• Competition & Strategy \ Competitive Strategies
• Core Competency & Competitive Advantage
• Going Global & Managing Global Businesses
• Managing In Troubled Times \ Managing a Crisis
• Mergers, Acquisitions & Takeovers
• Strategic Alliances, Collaboration & Joint Ventures
• Vision, Mission & Goals
• Operations & Project Management
• China-related cases
• India-related cases
• Women Executives/CEO's
• Aircraft & Ship Building
• Automobiles
• Home Appliances & Personal Care Products
• Minerals, Metals & Mining
• Engineering, Electrical & Electronics
• Building Materials & Construction Equipment
• Food, Diary & Agriculture Products
• Oil & Natural Gas
• Office Equipment
• Banking, Insurance & Financial Services
• Telecommunications
• e-commerce & Internet
• Freight &l Courier
• Movies,Music, Theatre & Circus
• Video Games
• Broadcasting
• Accessories & Luxury Goods
• Accounting & Audit
• IT Consulting
• Corporate Consulting
• Advertising
• IT and ITES
• Hotels & Resorts
• Theme Parks
• Health Care
• Sports & Sports Related
• General Business
• Business Law, Corporate Governence & Ethics
• Conglomerates

Companies & Organizations

• Air Tel, Samsung Electronics, IPL,
• Anheuser-Busch
• Burger King

Useful Links

• How to buy case studies?
• Pricing Information

Advertisement

Popular searches.

• For reprint requests in a text book or a case book, please write to [email protected]. The reprint permission given will be for one time use and non-exclusive rights will be provided to publish the case. The copyright will remain with IBS Case Development Centre (IBSCDC).
• Customer can also buy reprint permissions to use the selected case(s) in classroom for one year period from the time of purchase and a maximum of 200 copies.

* Teaching Note Teaching Notes will be provided only to Faculty Members and Course/ Training Instructors. Please e-mail us your request, with complete information about your Designation, institution, website address, contacts details including telephone number. And personal web pages and official e-mail id for verification. Please note that a complimentary copy of the teaching note will be provided to a Faculty Members and Course/Training Instructors who purchases minimum of 10 copies of a case study.

Recently Bought Cases

• SSS’s Experiment: Choosing an Appropriate Research Design
• Differentiating Services: Yatra.com’s ‘Click and Mortar’Model
• Wedding Services Business in India: Led by Entrepreneurs
• Shinsei Bank - A Turnaround
• Accenture’s Grand Vision: ‘Corporate America’s Superstar Maker’
• Tata Group’s Strategy: Ratan Tata’s Vision
• MindTree Consulting: Designing and Delivering its Mission and Vision
• Coca-Cola in India: Innovative Distribution Strategies with 'RED' Approach
• IndiGo’s Low-Cost Carrier Operating Model: Flying High in Turbulent Skies
• Evaluation of GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited (GHIAL)
• Ambuja Cements: Weighted Average Cost of Capital
• Walmart-Bharti Retail Alliance in India: The Best Way Forward?
• Exploring Primary and Secondary Data: Lessons to Learn
• Global Inflationary Trends: Raising Pressure on Central Banks
• Performance Management System@TCS
• Violet Home Theater System: A Sound Innovation
• Consumer’s Perception on Inverters in India: A Factor Analysis Case
• Demand Forecasting of Magic Foods using Multiple Regression Analysis Technique
• Saturn Clothing Company: Measuring Customer Satisfaction using Likert Scaling

Best Selling Cases

• Xerox�s Turnaround: Anne Mulcahy�s �Organizational Change�
• IKEA in Japan: The Market Re-entry Strategies
• Leadership Conundrum: Nike After Knight
• Nintendo�s Innovation Strategies: A Sustainable Competitive Advantage?
• Perfect Competition under eBay: A Fact or a Factoid?
• Googles HR Practices: A Strategic Edge?
• H&M vs Zara: Competitive Growth Strategies

Keep up with IBSCDC

• Email Newsletters
• IBSCDC on Twitter
• IBSCDC on Facebook
• IBSCDC on YouTube

Video Inerviews

Executive inerviews, case studies on.

• View all Casebooks »

Course Case Mapping For

• View All Course Casemaps »
• View all Video Interviews »
• View all Executive Briefs »
• View All Executive Interviews »

Advetisement

Contact us: IBS Case Development Centre (IBSCDC), IFHE Campus, Donthanapally, Sankarapally Road, Hyderabad-501203, Telangana, INDIA. Mob: +91- 9640901313 E-mail: [email protected]

Consumer Behavior Case Study: Ethical Consumption

All the vital news, analysis, and commentary curated by our industry experts.

Published: September 29, 2021 Report Code: GDCS21012CS-ST

• Share on Twitter
• Share on LinkedIn
• Share on Facebook
• Share on Threads
• Share via Email
• Report Overview
• Key Players

Table of Contents

This report is part of the GlobalData Case Study report series, which analyzes trends explored on GlobalData's TrendSights map. The consumer insight offered throughout the report is drawn from GlobalData's global consumer survey, a quarterly survey designed to capture consumer sentiment as it evolves throughout the year.

The COVID-19 pandemic has moved people towards a more sustainable and ethical lifestyle, due to the environmental and social issues that are impacting the world. In order to understand how consumers’ actions reflect on the planet, consumers want companies to be more transparent and share information about their practices and products.

– Companies need to acknowledge that a change in behavior will influence purchasing patterns.

Reasons to Buy

– Access valuable strategic take-outs to help direct decision-making and inform new product development.

2. Appendix

Frequently asked questions

• Currency Conversion is for Indicative purpose only. All orders are processed in US Dollars only.
• USD - US Dollar
• AUD — Australian Dollar
• BRL — Brazilian Real
• CNY — Yuan Renminbi
• GBP — Pound Sterling
• INR — Indian Rupee
• JPY — Japanese Yen
• ZAR — South African Rand
• USD — US Dollar
• RUB — Russian Ruble

Can be used by individual purchaser only

Can be shared by unlimited users within one corporate location e.g. a regional office

Can be shared globally by unlimited users within the purchasing corporation e.g. all employees of a single company

Undecided about purchasing this report?

Get in touch to find out about multi-purchase discounts.

[email protected] Tel +44 20 7947 2745

Every customer’s requirement is unique. With over 220,000 construction projects tracked, we can create a tailored dataset for you based on the types of projects you are looking for. Please get in touch with your specific requirements and we can send you a quote.

Sample Report

Consumer Behavior Case Study: Ethical Consumption was curated by the best experts in the industry and we are confident about its unique quality. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer free sample pages to help you:

• Assess the relevance of the report
• Evaluate the quality of the report
• Justify the cost

Download your copy of the sample report and make an informed decision about whether the full report will provide you with the insights and information you need.

Below is a sample report to understand what you are buying

“The GlobalData platform is our go-to tool for intelligence services. GlobalData provides an easy way to access comprehensive intelligence data around multiple sectors, which essentially makes it a one-for-all intelligence platform, for tendering and approaching customers.

GlobalData is very customer orientated, with a high degree of personalised services, which benefits everyday use. The highly detailed project intelligence and forecast reports can be utilised across multiple departments and workflow scopes, from operational to strategic level, and often support strategic decisions. GlobalData Analytics and visualisation solutions has contributed positively when preparing management presentations and strategic papers.”

“COVID-19 has caused significant interference to our business and the COVID-19 intelligence from GlobalData has helped us reach better decisions around strategy. These two highlights have helped enormously to understand the projections into the future concerning our business units, we also utilise the project database to source new projects for Liebherr-Werk to use as an additional source to pitch for new business.”

Your daily news has saved me a lot of time and keeps me up-to-date with what is happening in the market, I like that you almost always have a link to the source origin. We also use your market data in our Strategic Business Process to support our business decisions. By having everything in one place on the Intelligence Center it has saved me a lot of time versus looking on different sources, the alert function also helps with this.

Having used several other market research companies, I find that GlobalData manages to provide that ‘difficult-to-get’ market data that others can’t, as well as very diverse and complete consumer surveys.

Our experience with GlobalData has been very good, from the platform itself to the people. I find that the analysts and the account team have a high level of customer focus and responsiveness and therefore I can always rely on. The platform is more holistic than other providers. It is convenient and almost like a one stop shop. The pricing suite is highly competitive and value for our organisation.

I like reports that inform new segments such as the analysis on generation Z, millennials, the impact of COVID 19 to our banking customers and their new channel habits. Secondly the specialist insight on affluent sector significantly increases our understanding about this group of customers. The combination of those give us depth and breadth of the evolving market.

I’m in the business of answering and helping people make decisions so with the intelligence center I can do that, effectively and efficiently. I can share quickly key insights that answer and satisfy our country stakeholders by giving them many quality studies and primary research about competitive landscape beyond the outlook of our bank. It helps me be seen as an advisory partner and that makes a big difference. A big benefit of our subscription is that no one holds the whole data and because it allows so many people, so many different parts of our organisation have access, it enables all teams to have the same level of knowledge and decision support.

“I know that I can always rely on Globaldata’s work when I’m searching for the right consumer and market insights. I use Globaldata insights to understand the changing market & consumer landscape and help create better taste & wellbeing solutions for our customers in food, beverage and healthcare industries.

Globaldata has the right data and the reports are of very high quality compared to your competitors. Globaldata not only has overall market sizes & consumer insights on food & beverages but also provides insights at the ingredient & flavour level. That is key for B2B companies like Givaudan. This way we understand our customers’ business and also gain insight to our unique industry”

GlobalData provides a great range of information and reports on various sectors that is highly relevant, timely, easy to access and utilise.  The reports and data dashboards help engagement with clients; they provide valuable industry and market insights that can enrich client conversations and can help in the shaping of value propositions. Moreover, using GlobalData products has helped increase my knowledge of the finance sector, the players within it, and the general threats and opportunities.

I find the consumer surveys that are carried out to be extremely beneficial and not something I have seen anywhere else. They provided an insightful view of why and which consumers take (or don’t) particular financial products. This can help shape conversations with clients to ensure they make the right strategic decisions for their business.

One of the challenges I have found is that data in the payments space is often piecemeal. With GD all of the data I need is in one place, but it also comes with additional market reports that provide useful extra context and information. Having the ability to set-up alerts on relevant movements in the industry, be it competitors or customers, and have them emailed directly to me, ensures I get early sight of industry activity and don’t have to search for news.

Related reports

Every Company Report we produce is powered by the GlobalData Intelligence Center.

Subscribing to our intelligence platform means you can monitor developments at Consumer Behavior Case Study: Ethical Consumption in real time.

• Access a live Consumer Behavior Case Study: Ethical Consumption dashboard for 12 months, with up-to-the-minute insights.
• Fuel your decision making with real-time deal coverage and media activity.
• Turn insights on financials, deals, products and pipelines into powerful agents of commercial advantage.

Marketing Management: Indian Cases by Pearson

Get full access to Marketing Management: Indian Cases and 60K+ other titles, with a free 10-day trial of O'Reilly.

There are also live events, courses curated by job role, and more.

Consumer Behaviour — Its Wide Facets and Deep Implications

Customer connect, Customer loyalty, consumer relationships, changing society, transforming buying behaviours, etc., are the buzz words today around which strategies are being framed by the marketers.

We see lot of acceptance and also a lot of intolerance co-existing in the present society. Numerous structural and social barriers that have long existed are breaking down leading to a major cultural shift. The younger generation is openly expressing its voice. The attitude of people to different issues is changing. Hence, brands are continually trying to cope with all these changes. Brand strategist Harish Bijoor very well says that, “There will come a time when habits and attitude ...

Get Marketing Management: Indian Cases now with the O’Reilly learning platform.

O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.

Don’t leave empty-handed

Get Mark Richards’s Software Architecture Patterns ebook to better understand how to design components—and how they should interact.

It’s yours, free.

Check it out now on O’Reilly

Dive in for free with a 10-day trial of the O’Reilly learning platform—then explore all the other resources our members count on to build skills and solve problems every day.

We use cookies to enhance our website for you. Proceed if you agree to this policy or learn more about it.

• Essay Database >
• Essays Samples >
• Essay Types >
• Case Study Example

Consumer Behavior Case Studies Samples For Students

22 samples of this type

Do you feel the need to examine some previously written Case Studies on Consumer Behavior before you get down to writing an own piece? In this open-access directory of Consumer Behavior Case Study examples, you are provided with a thrilling opportunity to examine meaningful topics, content structuring techniques, text flow, formatting styles, and other academically acclaimed writing practices. Using them while crafting your own Consumer Behavior Case Study will definitely allow you to finalize the piece faster.

Presenting the finest samples isn't the only way our free essays service can help students in their writing efforts – our experts can also compose from point zero a fully customized Case Study on Consumer Behavior that would make a genuine basis for your own academic work.

Example Of Changing Consumer Behavior Using Marketing Case Study

Case study on consumer behaviour, introduction, good bagborroworsteal: online portal for luxury designer bags case study example, understanding how they include consumer behavior issues in their.

Don't waste your time searching for a sample.

Get your case study done by professional writers!

Just from $10/page

Harley Davidson Case Study

Consumer behavior case study, cross-cultural consumer behavior: an international perspective in consumer behavior case study example, case study on values versus value, a reflection, exploring the effects of social and relationship marketing on behavior change case study.

Several researchers from all over the word, going by the clarity of their findings, have come up with conclusions about the change in behavior of an individual. Some of these conclusions have been specific while others contain the kind of precision which leaves us with many unanswered questions. It is therefore logical to explore this matter in order to come up with some dependable information with regard to the dynamics that surround the behavior of consumers.

Starbucks-Red CUP Controversy Case Study Sample

Good example of uniqlo marketing research case study, uniqlo marketing research, strategic management case study sample, good cappuccino wars: case analysis case study example, free case study about alternative remedies, colgate-palmolive co.: the precision toothbrush case study sample, marketing : oberweiss dairy case study, free case study on mkt301, summer 2013, principles of marketing case study, free case study on corona beer case, executive summary., batman adding value through quality of service case study example, has everglo reached the end of the line in terms of its quality of service strategy, case study on values vs value by devinney auger and eckhardt.

(A Reflection, by Name)

The primary message of the authors is that a disparity exists between the number of consumers vouching for ethical products and the number of consumers actually buying them. The authors conclude that ethical concerns rank only second while making a purchase decision and the product’s economic properties are consumer’s priority. But, the authors also highlight the existence of a niche segment of consumers, who purchase products with ethical merits and it is only a matter of time that more and more consumers will follow the league. This offers scope for future marketing activities.

Case Study On Walk Before You Run By Comity Technology Advisors

A reflection by,, ethels chocolate lounges case study examples.

Password recovery email has been sent to [email protected]

Use your new password to log in

You are not register!

By clicking Register, you agree to our Terms of Service and that you have read our Privacy Policy .

Now you can download documents directly to your device!

Check your email! An email with your password has already been sent to you! Now you can download documents directly to your device.

or Use the QR code to Save this Paper to Your Phone

The sample is NOT original!

Short on a deadline?

Don't waste time. Get help with 11% off using code - GETWOWED

No, thanks! I'm fine with missing my deadline