How to Build Purpose into Business, Retailer or Brand Strategy

This PSFK Guide is a report on developing brand purpose for leaders looking to adjust their business goals to increase market share while delivering positive impact through better processes, practices and company culture.

Executive Summary

Consumers are increasingly aligning their progressive values with their purchasing decisions, driving companies to rethink their operations and retail and marketing efforts. Top of mind for the conscious consumer is how organizations are driving meaningful change through sustainability initiatives and DEI efforts. It’s now critical that businesses stop or running campaigns that lack authenticity and transparency.and think beyond messaging as their customers are ready to hold them accountable for their impact on society.

Report Overview

In this brand purpose report, discover how leading retailers and brands are innovating through better processes and practices. Learn how intrinsic motivation to prioritize social, cultural, and environmental responsibility, enables purpose-driven companies to not only navigate shifting consumer expectations and marketplace change, but lead the way on a deeper level with responsibility and empathy, and understand how profit and purpose can be intertwined to drive growth and deliver positive impact.

What You’ll Learn In This Report

• Across the commerce landscape, how conscious businesses are reexamining their end-to-end offering from sourcing and product development to internal representation and logistics to embed measurable social impact at every stage.
• How purpose-driven brands are developing new business models and platforms to empower customers and partners to get involved and drive collective action.
• Why these business purpose initiatives must now be viewed as true differentiators in an increasingly competitive marketplace.
• When effectively implemented, how these efforts can enable operational efficiencies and increase market share.
• Why purpose-driven brands can open the door to new revenue streams and increase creating value for consumers, companies and their workforce, and the planet.

What’s In This Report on Creating Brand Purpose?

In this brand purpose guide, discover how leading retailers and brands are innovating through better processes and practices. Learn how intrinsic motivation to prioritize social, cultural, and environmental responsibility, enables businesses to not only navigate shifting consumer expectations and marketplace change, but adjust their business goals to lead the way with responsibility and empathy, and understand how profit and purpose can be intertwined to drive growth.

This report provides:

• 5 brand purpose strategies for leveraging better sustainability processes and practices to connect with consumers
• 18 best-in-class examples of how brands, retailers and conscious businesses are using sustainable business practices to change the status quo and align with the desires and expectations of their consumers
• Consumer insights into changing behaviors and expectations of the consumer mindset around sustainability
• Case studies from Walmart, Instacart, Stripe and more

Who Prepared This Report?

This paper was developed by the same PSFK research department that since 2004 has provided trends-led innovation consulting advice to Apple, BMW, Facebook/Meta, Google, Microsoft, Samsung and Volkswagen.