This Week's Obsession: Consumer Sentiment vs. Behaviour

Last week, we focused on the luxury industry's crisis. This week, we explore consumer behaviour and why overconsumption persists despite widespread concern for the planet. Interestingly, 90% of luxury consumers claim to consider sustainability in their purchasing decisions. Yet, until recently, luxury consumption was experiencing record growth. So, what's really happening?
An article in the Harvard Business Review highlights a critical disconnect: consumers who claim sustainability as a factor in their buying decisions often don't act accordingly. On a scale from 1 to 5 (1 being 'I don't care very much' and 5 being 'I care deeply'), those who rate themselves between 1 and 4 make little effort to change their consumption habits. In contrast, those who rate themselves a 5 take significant actions, such as participating in marches, avoiding air travel, and adhering to strict buying limits. Luxury brands may currently rely on the 1-4s, but the article suggests that even these consumers might eventually shift their behaviours.
Those rating themselves as 5s often commit to the "Rule of 5," promising to buy only five new fashion items per year. If this seems daunting, consider this: last year, the average fashion consumer in Britain purchased 33 pieces of clothing. More intriguingly, how much of their clothing do they actually wear?
On average, people tend to wear only a small fraction of their wardrobe regularly. Studies have shown that around 50% of the clothes owned by individuals remain unworn. This highlights a significant gap between the number of items owned and those actually used.
In practice, many individuals follow the 80/20 rule, where 80% of the time, they wear only 20% of their clothes. This suggests that most of the wardrobe remains underutilised, leading to a large portion of clothing items not seeing regular use
If you're looking to maximize the utility of your wardrobe, consider regular decluttering and focusing on versatile, high-quality pieces that you genuinely love and wear often. Another is to start to look at different ways to maximise your wardobe by embracing circular models of consumption.
Renting
Best used for one - off wear due the high cost per use, rental has many positive factors vs. purchasing.