Consumers Shop With a Cause in Mind This Holiday Season; Record-High Number of Americans Will Consider a Company's Support of Causes When Buying Holiday Gifts This Year.

Business Editors

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 28, 2001

According to the 2001 Cone/Roper Corporate Citizenship Study, 76 percent of consumers are likely to consider a company's reputation for supporting causes when purchasing gifts this holiday season, up from 61 percent in 2000. This finding marks the highest number of Americans who say they plan to shop with a cause in mind since Cone began conducting holiday research in 1997.

Shopping with a cause in mind is one of the top ways that Americans plan to give back this holiday season:

 1.       Donate personal belongs
          (e.g., clothing, toiletries, etc.)                       75%
 2.       Purchase a product in which a percentage of the
          price is donated to a cause                              62%
 3.       Buy from a retailer that supports a cause                59%
 4.       Write a check                                            52%
 5.       Volunteer                                                47%
 6.       Go to a fundraising event                                41%

Of those Americans who plan to support charities this holiday season, more than half (53%) intend to support both efforts related to the national tragedy and causes not related to September 11th.

In addition to gaining consumers' purchasing dollars, retailers that support causes will benefit from enhanced awareness and word-of-mouth support. Almost nine in ten Americans (88%) agree that when they see information about a company supporting a cause, they are more likely to remember that company. Seventy-two percent say a company's commitment to social issues is important when they decide which products and services to recommend to others.

"Cone has been tracking consumer attitudes towards companies that support causes during the holidays for more than five years, and we have never seen consumer support this high," says Mark A. Feldman, executive vice president of Cone, a Boston-based strategy firm that links companies and social issues. "The events of September 11th caused Americans to reprioritize their values and heightened their desire to give back. More than ever, Americans are shopping with a cause in mind, and this trend will be especially evident during the holiday season as consumers reward retailers that provide them with opportunities to make a difference."

Additional findings from the 2001 Cone/Roper Corporate Citizenship Study include:

--81% of consumers say they are likely to switch brands, when price and quality are equal, to support a cause

--77% of consumers say a company's commitment to social issues is important when deciding what to buy or where to shop

The 2001 Cone/Roper Corporate Citizenship Study was commissioned by Cone, a Boston-based strategy firm that links companies and social issues (www.coneinc.com). The study was conducted by RoperASW via telephone interviews from October 26-28, 2001. It included a national cross-section of 1,030 adults and has an error margin of +/- three percentage points.

To obtain additional information on the 2001 Cone/Roper Corporate Citizenship Study or to speak with Mark Feldman or CEO Carol Cone about these and other research findings, please contact: