The research polled 1000 purchasing and procurement decision makers at British companies and found businesses remain willing to pay a premium for British goods with 86% happy to pay more (increasing 5% from 2019) and 64% willing to buy British whatever the cost.
Businesses are also becoming increasingly discerning as a result of the coronavirus, paying even closer attention to the positive contribution their purchasing decisions have on the environment and towards UK plc - and to a far greater extent than their consumer counterparts.
Concerns for the environment featured as a key motivator with 77 percent of businesses believing buying British could help the nation to tackle climate change (a 7% increase from 2019) compared to 71 percent of consumers.
16% of businesses also considered the environment as a main priority (just 5% of businesses in 2019) when making a purchase (after quality 28% and cost 21%) compared to only 6% of consumers.
Similarly, while two-thirds (66%) of consumers said they are more likely to buy British products to boost the economy post pandemic, this rose to three-quarters (74%) of businesses. Support for UK plc was even more pronounced among London based businesses with eight in ten (81%) more likely to buy British.
John Pearce, CEO, Made in Britain said, “Encouragingly our research shows that the business community is backing British manufacturing to the hilt with support for the UK economy significantly impacting purchasing decisions. Environmental concerns have also risen further up the corporate agenda as climate change and waste reduction become ever more critical.
“We are also extremely proud to see a coming together of British business in the face of adversity with almost a third (30%) of companies responding to the government’s calls to action to aid with the crisis. Indeed, a number of our own members have pivoted or diversified product lines to support coronavirus efforts.”
While businesses are happy to pay more to buy British, almost eight in ten (78%) admitted they would like to buy more British products than they already do (a 6% increase from 2019) demonstrating significant latent demand.
Such demand remains unfulfilled for a number of reasons – namely it is unclear to business buyers whether a product is made in Britain or overseas. In line with last year’s research, almost four in ten (38%) can’t tell when a product is British made. A similar amount (35%) said they may know a brand was founded in Britain but were unsure if its products were made here and 30% wouldn’t know where to go to buy them.
“It is more important than ever that manufacturers maximise the strong appetite for products made on British soil by making it as easy as possible for both consumers and businesses to buy British. The official Made in Britain accreditation represents a clear ‘stamp of approval’ for quality British made goods and can help cut through the confusion,” added John Pearce, CEO, Made in Britain.
