The consumer market for ethical financial products in the UK is
gradually becoming more of a mainstream proposition, according to
consumer research from Ashridge Business School commissioned by the
Co-operative Bank.
The survey comes at a time of heightened interest in the ethical
banking market in the UK: Barclays rolled out its fourth ethical
credit card last month and the Co-op Bank itself recently launched
a major marketing campaign called Live Life Better, as well as a
new credit card called Think (see RBI
582).
Go deeper with GlobalData
According to the report, Beyond the Niche: Bringing Ethical
Financial Products to Your High Street, while banking products
that offer some ethical characteristic represent less than 2
percent of overall UK sales, their market share has grown by 22
percent over the past six years.
The purpose of the research was to explore the potential of what
the report called the “ethically minded mainstream” – consumers who
have not yet bought an ethical financial product but saw themselves
as likely to consider buying one in the future. The study, which
interviewed 3,000 respondents, identified this segment to comprise
27 percent of UK adults. The report found that 11 percent of
respondents had already purchased an ethical financial
product.
Transparency was viewed as the key characteristic when discussing
ethics and ethical banking. Promoting a minimum standard of ethics
in all products also commanded strong support (a total of 43
percent), but offering ethical products alongside ‘standard’
products and doing so in a way that offers a choice about which
causes to support found significantly more favour (54
percent).
When prompted to consider a range of characteristics that ethical
financial products might offer, respondents opted for products that
support the efforts of others, particularly in developing new
environmentally friendly technologies for the future (34 percent),
and for charities working in the UK (39 percent). Those that help
address environmental challenges around the world and support
people in poorer countries also polled well.
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalDataBut UK consumers want banking products checked over by consumer
watchdogs (54 percent) or, failing that, by a trusted charity (37
percent) or independent auditing firm (36 percent). And they would
like to see labelling, both to distinguish those products that
offer especially high standards of ethics (82 percent in favour)
and to give them a choice about which causes to support – 78
percent were attracted by this suggestion.
