Shantel
Key Takeaways:
- Visa has initiated a Recommerce Behavioural Insights Lab aiming to increase sustainable consumer choices and boost the transition to a circular economy.
- The Lab’s inaugural experiment partners will be H&M Group’s COS brand and United Repair Centre.
- The experiments will analyse consumer behaviour to bridge the gap between intention and action towards sustainability.
- The findings will be open-sourced to aid other businesses in developing their circular models.
- Visa is leveraging its position as a global payment network to foster more sustainable consumption patterns.
About Visa Inc.
Visa Inc., a global leader in digital payments, forms a vital link between consumers, merchants, financial institutions, and governments in over 200 countries and territories. They envision a future where everyone, everywhere is included in the global economy, making access foundational to money movement. Through their innovative, reliable, and secure payment network, they help individuals, businesses, and economies to thrive.
Visa’s Recommerce Initiative: Encouraging Sustainable Choices
Research reveals that a staggering 92% of people have the intention to live sustainably, but a mere 16% are taking action to change their habits. Visa, cognizant of this intention-action gap, has initiated its Recommerce Behavioural Insights Lab. This lab will conduct real-world experiments to determine how businesses can inspire consumers to actively participate in a more circular economy.
The lab’s first experiments will be conducted in partnership with COS, part of H&M Group, and the United Repair Centre, a well-established repair service for European apparel brands. These experiments will explore consumer motivations for participating in resale markets and the potential obstacles that discourage them from repairing their clothes.
From Intent to Action: Understanding Consumer Behaviour
Visa, alongside Mindworks, Twig, and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, aims to identify and overcome the barriers preventing consumers from adopting more sustainable choices. They will assess different experiences and motivations in various environments, such as online and in-store shopping. Their aim is to identify the specific triggers that can drive significant changes in consumer behaviour.
“Over half of Europeans are already regularly engaging in recommerce activities like resale. By uncovering what actually gets shoppers to change their behaviour and by leveraging our data and insights from these experiments with United Repair Centre and COS, we can identify new ways to make sustainable fashion a must-have purchase and accelerate the transition to the circular economy for all.” – Katherine Brown, Vice President Sustainability and Inclusive Impact, Visa Europe.
Opening the Door to Sustainable Choices
The findings from these experiments will be open-sourced and available in downloadable playbooks, enabling other businesses to apply these insights to their own circular models. This approach encourages a collaborative spirit and facilitates knowledge sharing within the wider Recommerce community.
“Every brand is looking at how they can be sustainable, and consumers are also looking for sustainable alternatives. Repair is a great way to show consumers the value of clothing again, and as it becomes the new cool in fashion, it also gives them the chance to create real impact.” – Thami Schewichler, CEO, United Repair Centre.
A Synergistic Partnership for Sustainable Progress
The Behavioural Insights Lab brings together Visa’s expertise in equitable commerce and design, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s circular design principles, Twig’s fintech and resale knowledge, and Mindworks’ prowess in designing behavioural interventions. This collaborative initiative aims to uncover actionable insights and scalable solutions that encourage sustainable consumer choices, marking a crucial step towards a more sustainable and inclusive economy.
“This project is absolutely a design-led initiative, and an important step in the journey towards bringing together different actors to collectively imagine and test new ways of engaging people and enabling circular economy choices.” – Anna Queralt, Strategic Design Manager, Ellen MacArthur Foundation.
Through its Recommerce Behavioural Insights Lab, Visa underscores its commitment to sustainability and demonstrates the role of large corporations in fostering a more sustainable and inclusive world. With every step taken towards a more circular economy, they help to build a future where sustainable choices are not just an alternative, but everyone’s must-have.
