Marketing Sustainable Consumption within Stores: A Case Study of the UK’s Leading Food Retailers

Sustainable consumption is a core policy objective within the UK Government’s Sustainable Development Strategy and there is a growing awareness that retailers have a vital role to play in promoting more sustainable patterns of consumption. This paper explores how the UK’s top ten food retailers are communicating sustainable consumption agendas to their customers within stores in the towns of Cheltenham and Gloucester. The findings reveal that while these retailers are providing customers with some information on sustainable consumption the dominant thrust of marketing communication within stores is designed to encourage consumption. The paper concludes with some reflections on how sustainable consumption fits into the large food retailers’ business models.