Descartes' Study Reveals Nearly 90% of Consumers' Sustainable Home Delivery Choices Are Impacted by Economic Pressure

ATLANTA and LONDON, Oct. 10, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Descartes Systems Group (Nasdaq:DSGX) (TSX:DSG), the global leader in uniting logistics-intensive businesses in commerce, released findings from its 2024 Home Delivery Sustainability Report: The Environmentally Conscious Consumer Under Pressure survey, which examined online consumer sentiment of retailers' sustainability practices around their delivery operations. The third annual study shows that 57% of respondents were quite/very interested in sustainable home delivery services, however, 89% felt their willingness to pay more for sustainable delivery was impacted by the current economic environment. Moreover, 34% indicated economic pressures had significantly/drastically impacted this motivation.

The promising news for the environment and retailers, however, is that 99% of consumers surveyed are doing/open to doing more to reduce their environmental footprint, with a significant number (38%) indicating they regularly/always make purchase decisions based on the environmental impact of the product or company. Offering and educating the market about sustainable last mile practices that save the consumer money represents an opportunity for retailers to stand out and build loyalty as eco-friendly businesses while operating more efficiently. In the study, the top delivery options cited by those interested in using more sustainable methods were combining orders into a single delivery and carbon neutral deliveries (see Figure 1):

Figure 1: Respondents quite/very interested in receiving deliveries using more environmentally friendly delivery methods, such as the following:

"Despite the financial pressures many consumers are facing today, interest in purchasing goods from companies with sustainable business practices, including eco-friendly home delivery options, remains strong," said Ken Wood, EVP Product Management at Descartes. "By capitalizing on this opportunity to educate consumers across all age groups about the cost-efficiency of many environmentally friendly delivery choices, retailers can better differentiate their services and build brand loyalty. Because the majority of environmentally-friendly options also drive delivery density and increase delivery efficiency, they also help to reduce transportation costs for retailers."

Descartes and SAPIO Research surveyed 8,000 consumers across nine European countries, Canada and the United States to provide retailers and logistics organizations with critical insights into the importance of the environment in consumer purchase and delivery decisions and how perspectives vary by age and geography. The goal was to gain a comprehensive understanding of the intersection of sustainability, last mile delivery, and consumer buying behavior across demographics, including assessing consumer motivation to reduce their carbon footprint through eco-friendly home delivery options and the impact of inflation and other economic factors on consumers' delivery preferences and behaviors. To learn more, read the 2024 Home Delivery Sustainability Report: The Environmentally Conscious Consumer Under Pressure report.

Learn more about Descartes' environmental practices at Environmental Impact Descartes.

About Descartes

Descartes (Nasdaq:DSGX) (TSX:DSG) is the global leader in providing on-demand, software-as-a-service solutions focused on improving the productivity, security and sustainability of logistics-intensive businesses. Customers use our modular, software-as-a-service solutions to route, track and help improve the safety, performance and compliance of delivery resources; plan, allocate and execute shipments; rate, audit and pay transportation invoices; access global trade data; file customs and security documents for imports and exports; and complete numerous other logistics processes by participating in the world's largest, collaborative multimodal logistics community. Our headquarters are in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada and we have offices and partners around the world. Learn more at www.descartes.com, and connect with us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Global Media Contact
Cara Strohack                                                                     
Tel: +1(800) 419-8495 ext. 202025                                 
cstrohack@descartes.com  

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws ("forward-looking statements") that relate to Descartes' routing, mobile and telematics solution offerings and potential benefits derived therefrom; and other matters. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from the anticipated results, performance or achievements or developments expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to, the factors and assumptions discussed in the section entitled, "Certain Factors That May Affect Future Results" in documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Ontario Securities Commission and other securities commissions across Canada including Descartes' most recently filed management's discussion and analysis. If any such risks actually occur, they could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations. In that case, the trading price of our common shares could decline, perhaps materially. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance upon any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. Forward-looking statements are provided for the purposes of providing information about management's current expectations and plans relating to the future. Readers are cautioned that such information may not be appropriate for other purposes. We do not undertake or accept any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements to reflect any change in our expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based, except as required by law.

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