Cape Town – Retail giant Woolworths’ attempt at addressing allegations of copying the design of baby carriers fanned the flames on social media, with sentiment towards them reaching the lowest point, according to Opinion mining company BrandsEye.
Ubuntu Baba baby carrier creator Shannon McLaughlin accused the retailer of stealing her design, after noting strong similarities.
The retailer has since met with McLaughlin and given her an apology before announcing that they would be removing the remaining carriers from their stores and donating them to needy mothers.
The retailer and McLaughlin are still in discussions about possible compensation.
BrandsEye conducted an analysis of the company and found that the Woolworths Ubuntu Baba baby carrier incident had a significantly negative impact on public perception of Woolworths’ ethics and reputation.
BrandsEye collected 19482 social media posts about Woolworths between January 1 and 14, in which 14% of consumers cited previous instances where the retailer had allegedly copied other products.
“Over the 14-day period analysed, the Ubuntu Baba conversation comprised 46.5% of total Woolworths conversation; 170 authors who identified themselves as mothers contributed 3.6% of total conversation, of which 80% was negative.”
The company said the most negative topic of conversation, “comprising 44%” of the topic’s data, related to accusations of unethical behaviour by Woolworths.
Consumers also expressed their negativity towards Woolworths’ own brands. Many accused the retailer of creating “knock-offs of other products".
Sentiment towards the retailer reached its lowest point on January 9 when it announced it would be meeting with McLaughlin.
“Consumers responded with multiple questions on Woolworths’ posts related to the baby carrier to which they felt Woolworths did not adequately respond.
“This initiated conversations between consumers, leading to increased negative sentiment and growing ethical concerns about the retailer.”
Staff conduct was also called into question when consumers learned that Woolworths employees allegedly purchased two baby carriers from Ubuntu Baba months before the release of their similar product.
Roughly 14% of unique authors who spoke about the Ubuntu Baba incident noted that Woolworths had faced similar allegations numerous times, including the Frankie’s Soda incident.