Survey: Slovaks Becoming More Conscious of Ecological Impact of Online Shopping

Bratislava, August 6 (TASR) - While the EU is already proposing solutions, Slovakia is only now learning about the impact of the wasteful packaging of products from online shops, according to a July survey carried out by Slovak start-up Repetito. According to the survey, the option of ecological packaging has convinced around 44.7 percent of Slovak customers to proceed with their purchase. Another 42.7 percent claim that they haven't taken it into consideration, and 12.7 percent don't care about the ecological implications of online shops. "Around 80 percent of products are shipped in cardboard packaging, and the remaining 20 percent in plastic," explained Repetito's CEO Ivan Stefina. The Repetito start-up is developing reusable packaging for online shops. According to EU plans, online shops will be required to use reusable packaging in the near future. "Our research has confirmed that ecology-conscious online shops could have a market advantage and gain the attention of customers who apart from reviews, price and quality, also look at the ecological impact of online shopping," added Stefina. According to the survey, online shopping observed a huge increase in demand during the pandemic, and only 8 percent of customers remained loyal to shopping in brick-and-mortar stores. Around 70 percent of the respondents shop online one to three times a month, 16 percent shop online four to five times a month, and 6 percent shop more than six times a month. The survey shows that 54.4 percent of customers consider mainly quality after the price of a product, 39 percent focus on reviews, 34.8 percent look for simple and easy payment and shipping methods, 25.3 percent for the speed of delivery, and 23.3 percent for the shop's reputation. The survey was carried out in July on a sample of 1,050 respondents aged 18 to 65. mta/df/am