Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International Label Perceptions Survey Findings Report ITALY

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1 Scaricato da Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International Label Perceptions Survey Findings Report ITALY

2 2 Summary and Implications

3 Summary and Implications Room to build label awareness in Italy. Given that only one in five Italians say they are familiar with the FT label and that Italians are less likely than consumers in any other country surveyed to be familiar with the label, there is a strong opportunity for FT to raise awareness. Label awareness is critical, since: - Those more familiar with FT are more likely to report that FT imposes strict standards on products / ingredients. - Those familiar with FT have much greater trust in the label. - Those familiar with FT are far more likely to express interest in purchasing FT products, across all product types. Receptiveness to labelling in general. Italians are the strongest supporters, of any consumers, of third party certification as the best way to verify a product s claims. They are also more concerned than average with the global challenges presented in the survey and hold above average expectations for companies to behave in a socially and environmentally responsible way. Given this combination of characteristics, Italians may be particularly interested in using labels to help make sure their purchases address issues they care about. The Enthusiasts segment, the most likely consumer segment to be interested in labelling initiatives, is larger in Italy than in any other country surveyed. 3

4 Summary and Implications 4 Key measures to developing the label in the Italy could include: - Raising visibility and awareness of the label. - Aiming to increase the availability of FT-labelled products, perhaps even offering them through discount stores if this is not already done. - Making consumers aware of which stores carry FT products. - Appealing directly to Enthusiasts, a segment disproportionately represented in Italy compared to other countries and one that is capable of spreading the word about FT should their experience be positive. Even among Enthusiasts, purchase levels of FT products are still relatively low in Italy. - Expanding the label to include certification of textiles and/or wood products. - Appealing to Italians above average interest in ensuring that companies fight the violation of human rights and invest in communities. - Getting across the important strengths of FT reputation in Italy, namely the label s ability to ensure fair prices and market access to producers, to ensure high labour and human rights standards, to reduce environmental impact, and to offer healthy/quality products. - Not relying solely on altruism of consumers to encourage sales, but instead ensuring that tangible, personal benefits of the products (e.g. product quality, good value, convenience) are communicated, in addition making it clear that the purchases serve to help others.

5 Summary Comparison of Italian vs Global Consumers Characteristic Italy compared to 15-country average % in Italy % Global Spontaneous mentions of FT label Below average 13% 26% Have seen FT label Below average 35% 59% Familiar with FT label Below average 20% 50% FT standards strict Above average 68% 64% Trust FT label Below average 50% 64% Purchasers likely to recommend FT products Above average 74% 59% Willing to pay more for certified products Below average 56% 60% Agree that third party certification is the best way to certify a product s claims Top concern (of prompted list), Concerned Top reason for not buying FT products (more) Above average 87% 72% Environmental pollution 86% 73% Not available where I prefer to shop 59% 33% 5

6 6 Attitudes & Receptiveness Towards Labelling

7 Attitudes & Receptiveness Towards Labelling SUMMARY Italians engaged on variety of issues, not just issues related fair trade. Italians show above average concern for each of the global challenges presented in the survey. They also have above average expectations for companies to engage in the environmentally and socially responsible behaviours discussed. While such high engagement could serve to advance the FT initiative in Italy, the threat is that other, competing initiatives will draw attention away from FT. Strong appeal of certain aspects of FT. Consumers in Italy are more likely than consumers in any country surveyed to expect companies to contribute to community development and to fight the violation of human rights. Both expectations, as part of the FT mission, could be used by FT to appeal to Italian consumers. Strong support for certification. Italians are more likely than consumers in any other country surveyed to agree that third party certification is the best way to verify a product s claims most Italians (87%) agree that certification is best. However, Italian consumers are no more willing than other consumers to pay more for certified products. Consumer segments to target. A global-level segmentation of consumers based on their level of activism as consumers and citizens, as well as their expectations of companies to be responsible corporate citizens, revealed five distinct segments. In Italy, two of these segments - Enthusiasts and Mainstream consumers - are considered to represent receptive targets for FT products. The Enthusiasts segment in Italy is larger than in any of the other countries surveyed. 7

8 Italy Consumer Segmentation Profiles The Enthusiasts segment, in particular, is large in Italy compared to the Global results, while the non-strategic segments (Passive Beneficiaries and the Disengaged) are significantly smaller groups in Italy. Enthusiasts and Mainstream are key segments that FT should focus on in marketing communications as these groups tend to be engaged on the issues and are more likely to be receptive to the concept of fair trade. As the most likely consumers to recommend brands to others, Enthusiasts have the potential to cause a ripple effect if they come to hold a positive (or negative) view of the label. Passive Beneficiaries and Disengaged are not further discussed as they tend to not be engaged on social or environmental issues they are not as active as the other segments and are unlikely to be receptive to purchasing FT products. Active Skeptics represent a strategic FT segment in some countries surveyed but in Italy, given the large size of the Enthusiasts segment, the fact that Enthusiasts are a relatively untapped group for FT products compared to Enthusiasts in other countries, and given the relatively small size of the Active Skeptics segment, Active Skeptics are not considered to be a strategic target at this time. GlobeScan has reviewed key questions and highlighted by segment any important differentiators of these strategic groups in Italy to assist FT in marketing and communications planning to target these groups. 8

9 Consumer Segmentation Italy, 2008 The Enthusiasts segment in Italy is twice as large as the average across the 15 countries (36% in Italy compared to 18%) in no other country are Enthusiasts so well represented. Among Italian consumers, there are also relatively few Passive Beneficiaries and Disengaged. 9

10 Italy Consumer Segmentation Profiles Enthusiasts Mainstream Active Skeptics Gender No differentiation Female (56%) Male (76%) Age More likely to be older (45+) No differentiation Less likely to be middle aged (35-65 years) Marital status Less likely to be single (27%) Slightly less likely to be single (28%) More likely to be single (48%) Education No differentiation Ages of those in household No differentiation More likely to have children at home Less likely to have children at home Primary shopper Yes (65%) Yes (60%) Yes (54%) Where shop most frequently for food (Combined mentions) Which specific supermarket? (Top mention) Should products with certification labels be sold at discount stores? Supermarket (91%), More likely than other segments to shop at Organic / health food stores (19%) and World shops (10%) Supermarket (89%) Essenlunga Essenlunga Ipercoop Yes (80%) Yes (79%) Yes (68%) Supermarket (80%), More likely than other segments to shop at Local independent stores (17%) Employment situation More likely to be retired (12%) No differentiation More likely to be selfemployed (23%), Less likely to be retired (3%) Annual household income before taxes Religion Higher than average No differentiation Slightly more likely to report lower incomes Less likely to be Christian, Less likely to have a religion No differentiation Less likely to be Christian 10

11 11 Awareness & Knowledge of Labels

12 Frequency with which Consumers Have Seen the Fairtrade* Label By Country, *Label name was customized by country.

13 Willingness to Recommend FT Products to Friends/Colleagues Very Likely, * by Country, 2008 More Italians say they would be likely to recommend the products (4 or 5 on the 5-point scale) than consumers in any other country, indicating positive experiences with FT to date. *On a scale of 1 to 5 where 5 is Very likely and 1 is Not at all likely. 13 Subsample: Those who say they purchase at least one FT product Rarely or more often at Q11.

14 Level of Trust in the Fairtrade* Label A Lot of Trust and Some Trust, by Country, 2008 Along with familiarity, the level of trust in the FT label is low in Italy compared to the other countries surveyed. 14 *Label name was customized by country.

15 15 Purchasing of Labelled Products

16 Reasons for Not Buying Fairtrade More Often Prompted, Combined Mentions, Italy, country average is 51 percent 15-country average is 27 percent Only in Italy does availability of FT products emerge so strongly as a barrier to increased purchasing (15- country average is 33%). 16 Subsample: Respondents who have seen the FT label Often or Occasionally at Q6 and who Never or Rarely buy at least one FT product at Q11 (n=174).

17 17 Drivers of Fairtrade Reputation and Purchases

18 Drivers of Fairtrade Reputation and Purchases SUMMARY Drivers of reputation. A total of eight drivers of Fairtrade reputation were derived: Value for Money, Fair Prices / Market Access, Labour Standards / Human Rights, Independent Certification, Healthy/Quality Product, Investment in Communities, Environmental Impact, and Availability. Key strengths. The FT label is currently perceived to perform well on the drivers of reputation which are relatively important to Italian consumers, namely: - Labour Standards / Human Rights - Fair Prices / Market Access - Environmental Impact - Healthy / Quality Products 18 Key weaknesses. Unlike in every other country surveyed, FT is not observed to have any critical weaknesses in Italy at this time. It is rated relatively well on all important drivers of FT reputation in Italy. Increased purchasing would therefore seem to depend on greater prominence of the label and greater familiarity with it there is no inherent weakness of the label/products that is reducing purchasing. Drivers of Fairtrade purchasing. A path analysis model has been developed to examine the direct and indirect influences which motivate consumers to choose to purchase FT. While the strongest direct drivers of purchasing are familiarity with the label and perceived value for money from the products, other factors exert important indirect influences including product availability, perceived healthiness/quality of products, environmental impact, and the perceived independence of certification. While certain important influences are being effectively communicated to consumers currently, this is not the case for all important drivers.

19 Determining the Drivers of Fairtrade Reputation Respondents who are not very or more familiar with the Fairtrade label were asked to rate it on a series of 20 attributes. In order to reduce the number of attributes to a more manageable set of drivers, a statistical procedure called factor analysis was used. Factor analysis grouped the 20 attributes into eight drivers, shown on the next slide. Importance scores for the drivers were then determined using correlation coefficients, with question 8B as the dependent variable (degree of positive impact from adding the Fairtrade label to a branded product), a measure of label reputation. Performance scores for the drivers were determined by calculating the average ratings by respondents for the attributes making up the driver. 19

20 Perceived Performance on Drivers of Fairtrade Reputation Italy, 2008 Compared to other countries, Italian consumers tend to assign average ratings to FT, though Italians have more positive perceptions than others of FT s environmental impact and the healthiness/quality of products. 20