Worldwide e-Commerce sales amounted to almost $3 trillion in 2018, with sales projected to double that figure by 2021. This market share of consumerism demands a responsible lead from retailers regarding ethical concerns.

Consumer awareness over sustainability, production and carbon footprints has rightly made significant headlines and become a big factor in deciding which retailers are offering a proactive stance on this. This in turn can influence and decide where consumers will spend their money, with younger generations willing to pay a higher price for and research into more sustainable goods.

There are many ethical and environmental factors that consumers are considering as important and influential when purchasing online. If you can connect into these then it is likely to give your product a boost. Examples include:

• Packaging. Is yours recyclable? Are you minimising packaging requirements?
• How far is your product being shipped? What carbon footprint is every delivery creating?
• Are you using renewable energy sources in your product creation & design?
• Are your products recyclable or could their single use model be revisited to have more reusability?
• Are you telling your customers about the proactive steps you're taking to improve all of the above, and how they might be able to contribute more to help?

The sea change in consumer consideration will be here to stay so it is worthwhile revisiting your thoughts on this if you haven't already made changes.