Guest post from MindfulCommerce - a community for ecommerce brands, service providers and tech companies who care about protecting our planet.
Launching a new Shopify store and looking to make a really strong start? While Shopify's "out of the box" functionality is solid, the platform is essentially designed to do the universal basics very well, and relies upon its thriving app ecosystem to add finesse and custom polish.
Shopify does more than most ecommerce platforms with regard to sustainability, but if you're looking to kick things off in the greenest way possible, you might want to seek out a little third party expertise.
This article will provide a few pointers to get you started...
The Opportunity Of Concious Ecommerce
The future of ecommerce is looking pretty green. Consumers are increasingly concerned with supporting brands that reflect their own values, and 88% of customers expect the brands that they shop with to help them on their own personal missions towards sustainability.
This represents a unique opportunity for retailers to step up and embrace the move towards becoming a more conscious ecommerce brand. Launching a new store offers a chance to position your brand in this way from the outset, building out a foundation tech stack that can help you achieve great results as your move towards achieving your objects for both profit and planet.
The Rise Of Shopify's Eco Apps
Just as Shopify has positioned itself at the forefront of sustainable ecommerce with cloud-based servers running on renewable energy, a significant Sustainability Fund and more, we've also seen this trend reflected in the Shopify App Store offerings, with a steady rise in the number of apps and services that promise to help you run a tighter, greener ship.
Apps are a brilliant way to ensure that you're edging towards better sustainability, as well as chasing those all-important social impact goals. There are several distinct categories emerging within the app ecosystem, which all help to drive positive change and improve efficiencies when it comes to doing better as a brand.
From carbon offsetting through to finding new, more sustainable channels of sale, the Shopify App Store has a great deal to offer merchants who are looking to harness third party experience to make a real difference.
1. CARBON CLICK
CarbonClick is helping brands all over the world fight the carbon crisis, by making online shopping more climate-friendly. They offer a simple and cost-effective way for brands to power up their sustainability, by adding their distinctive green offsetting button to checkout pages.
The process is intuitive, integrated and incredibly appealing to audiences keen to mitigate the impact of their shopping habits. And CarbonClick doesn’t stop there. Individuals and businesses can also work with them to monitor (and reduce) their own operational carbon footprints.
They’re also smart about how their offsetting funds are invested. 50% of their funds are sent to local flagship forest regeneration or conservation projects, while the remaining 50% go to high-impact international clean energy projects.
2. GREENSTORY
Modern consumers are increasingly values-led. As a result, it’s never been more important to make sure your store clearly communicates your commitment to sustainability. If you're looking to see real ROI on the investment you make with regard to decreasing the impact of your brand, its vital that you let your customers know what you've been up to.
When brands put in the hard graft to reduce their impact, Green Story helps them get the recognition they deserve. By pairing supply-chain sustainability analysis with informative graphics and marketing strategies, Green Story helps brands to demonstrate their impact in a clear, transparent and visually appealing manner.
We love GreenStory because they make the process easy, clean and clear. Not only do they help you show off your green accolades – they also help you make them better. Their supply chain analysis offers amazing insight into your operational processes (showing you where there’s scope for improvement!)
3. RECURATE
The used product market is growing 21x faster than traditional retail. Not only is this better for the consumer's pocket, it's also great for the planet. If your goods have a resale value, and it feels as if you're missing out on this second cycle of private sales, recapture some of the value they carry (at the same time as promoting a greener "reduce, reuse, recycle" approach) by bringing second-hand sales under the umbrella of your own store, with Recurate.
As a trend that proving especially popular with younger generations, this is an area to get ahead of the curve on. Recurate enables a perfectly integrated, white-labelled resale marketplace, directly on your Shopify-powered store.
Remember, your customers are likely already buying your used products – just not from you!
Recurate helps you capture some of the value of that pre-loved market in a highly functional, well designed and practical manner. Everyone wins, including the planet!
Ready to get your Shopify business off to a stronger, greener start?
Ecommerce has a huge global impact on our resources and carbon emissions. We can all do our bit – setting out with the very best intentions, and a mindful approach to the way that we do business in the Shopify ecosystem.
Set aside some time to address the ways that your store could lean on preexisting powerful tech solutions to help you launch in the best, greenest and most ethical way.
Wanna learn more about sustainability in ecommerce? Take a look at The MindfulCommerce Sustainability Framework, join The MindfulCommerce Community and explore their Directory to find fellow brands and ecommerce experts who share your values.
-
If you are considering using Shopify for your online store, you can subscribe here for a free trial or email us at info@namastudio.it
