A growing percentage of consumers today are paying attention to companies’ stances on social, environmental and political issues, according to a new report by consumer market research agency Horowitz Research.
The report, which sought to gauge how much companies’ sociopolitical stances effect consumers’ relationships with brands, discovered that six in 10 consumers today (60 percent) reported they make an active effort to understand the environmental, social and political stances of companies they do business with.
Nearly a quarter of consumers (22 percent) said they think companies should take a stand on sociopolitical issues, and one in four consumers (25 percent) also said they go out of their way to buy from companies that support the same causes they do.
An additional quarter of consumers (25 percent) admitted that they’ve boycotted a company or at least decreased the amount of business they do with it because they don’t agree with that company’s stances on a sociopolitical issue.
Not surprisingly, some of the greatest support for companies that stand for something comes among young consumers. More than a quarter (27 percent) of consumers between the ages of 18 to 34 think companies should take a stand on sociopolitical issues, compared to 22 percent of 35-49-year-olds and only 17 percent of those over 50.
 Consumers were asked whether knowing the social, environmental and political stances of the companies they do business with plays a role in their lives. |
More than two-thirds (67 percent) of consumers aged 18 to 49 said they actively try to understand the social, environmental and political stances of companies they do business with.
Similarly, diverse audiences—Hispanic, Black and LGBTQ consumers— are also attracted to cause-driven messages that represent and welcome them. About a third of Hispanic, Black and LGBTQ respondents—30 percent, 31 percent and 30 percent, respectively—want companies to take a stand on social issues. Additionally, 28 percent of Hispanics, 32 percent of Black and 38 percent of LGBTQ consumers said they go out of their way to purchase from companies that align with their beliefs and politics. And nearly two-thirds of Black (61 percent), Hispanic (61 percent) and LGBTQ (62 percent) consumers said it makes a positive impact on their decision to patronize a company when those companies are known for embracing and supporting their communities.
Horowitz Research’s “State of Consumer Engagement 2019” report surveyed 1,404 adult consumers online in September 2019.
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