Close Menu
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Our Word Chefs
  • Write for us
  • Categories ———-
  • Food & Drink
  • Travel
  • Culture
  • Entertainment
  • Lifestyle
  • Retail
  • Health
  • ——————
  • Policies
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms & Conditions
    • Cookies
Facebook X (Twitter)
  • Home
  • Latest
  • About
  • Our Word Chefs
  • Write for us
  • Contact
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
Food Future
  • Food & Drink
  • Health
  • Events
  • Entertainment
  • Hospitality
  • Retail
  • Travel
  • News
Food Future
Home » Latest » Gen Z “talk a good game” about environment, but older people are doing hard yards on ethical shopping – Savanta
Business

Gen Z “talk a good game” about environment, but older people are doing hard yards on ethical shopping – Savanta

Karen ContrinoBy Karen Contrino14/10/20243 Mins Read
Share
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email
  • Gen Z more likely to say shopping sustainably is important to them, but older people much more likely to action their beliefs, according to new research from Savanta
  • Savanta’s Q3 Grocery Eye Report suggests Boomers more likely to use reusable bags, buy loose goods, minimise waste and prioritise recyclable packaging
  • Sustainability in retail is defined differently across generations, with older people more likely to associate with recycling – while younger people tend to link with human rights
  • Consumers think that sustainability is as much the responsibility of retailers and brands as it is on themselves as individuals
  • Sustainability is seen as a second-tier decision maker for consumers, behind price and quality – but still protected as a key factor

Generation Z (51%) are more likely to rank sustainability as important to them when shopping compared to Baby Boomers (39%), but younger people are significantly less likely to action their beliefs.

New research from market research consultancy Savanta suggests that younger people – born between 1995 and 2010 – “talk a good game” when it comes to sustainability, but older generations in their 50’s and 60’s are much more likely to take action across almost every category tested, including:

    • Using reusable bags (Gen Z: 39%, Boomers: 75%)
    • Buy loose goods (Gen Z: 24%, Boomers: 44%)
    • Buy produce in season (Gen Z: 25%, Boomers: 52%)
    • Buy ‘wonky’ produce (Gen Z: 28%, Boomers: 55%)
    • Minimising waste through meal plans / freezing (Gen Z: 29%, Boomer: 58%)
    • Only buy products with recyclable packaging (Gen Z: 24%, Boomer: 40%)

Savanta‘s Q3 2024 Grocery Eye Report, which tracks consumer behaviour every quarter, also shows that consumers increasingly think that taking action on sustainability is as much the responsibility of retailers (42%) and brands (41%) as it is on themselves as individuals (36%). Gen Z are more likely than other generations to see it as the role of retailers (48%) and brands (58%) to educate them on sustainability.

Sustainability in retail is defined differently across generations, with older people more likely to associate with plastic & recycling (67%) and food waste (73%) – while younger people tend to link sustainability with human rights (66%).

The most important factors for consumer decision making are price (73%) and quality (70%). Sustainability (41%) is a second-tier decision maker for customers, although it is ahead of production processes (39%), ethical brand (39%), locally sourced (37%), packaging (37%), being Fairtrade (35%), a product you can’t get at other retailers (35%) and being organic (30%).

Julie Vigne, Senior Director at Savanta says:

“Generation Z talk a good game about sustainable shopping, but our research suggests that in reality it is older people who are doing the heavy lifting. Across a whole range of behaviours, from recycling to not using plastic, it’s Baby Boomers who are more likely to be taking action, not younger people.”

“There are good reasons for this; aside from anything else, older consumers have more disposable income than younger generations. Baby Boomers can afford to be discerning, whereas Gen Z simply might not have the cash for often more expensive and sustainable alternatives. Younger people are more likely to need to see the personal benefit of sustainable behaviours, such as cost saving, for this reason.”

Post Views: 683
Karen Contrino

Related Posts

Press Release 12/05/2025

THE BRUSH EAST LONDON GRAND CAFÉ: CAFÉ CULTURE & COCKTAILS

Press Release 12/05/2025

Introducing The Vitamins Co.: Elevating Everyday Wellness with Methylated, Science-Backed Supplements

Press Release 12/05/2025

BBQ season is here, save big on outdoor must-haves at The Range

Business 10/05/2025

Top Benefits of Investing in Used Evaporative Condensers for Industrial Refrigeration

Top Picks

Recognizing the Early Warning Signs of Alzheimer’s Disease

19/05/2025

Inspired by the RHS Chelsea Flower Show? Culinary expert shares the common garden flowers you should be adding to your cooking

19/05/2025

Father-and-son team Andy and Rhys Mallows, founders of Mallows Bottling

19/05/2025

National Fish & Chip Day – June 6th is Fast Approaching!

18/05/2025
Socialise With Us
  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Here at Food Future, we are a dedicated team of culinary enthusiasts passionate about writing food and drink experiences.

Beyond being a mere collection of recipes and guides, our platform is a celebration of the rich culinary landscape.

Join us in tasting the essence of tomorrow, today!

hello@foodfuture.org.uk

Our Picks

Ukraine Grain Exports Increase Despite Russian Attacks on Ports

By Sam Allcock12/08/2024

Terrestrial Biomes

By Sam Allcock28/10/2024

Te Arai Links Restaurant, Where Exquisite Dining Meets Spectacular Ocean Views

By Sam Allcock14/04/2025

Subscribe for Updates

Unleash a world of flavour in your inbox – subscribe now for a taste of Food Future's culinary delights

  • Home
  • About
  • Our Word Chefs
  • Write for us
  • Contact
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookies
  • Sitemap
Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn
© FoodFuture.org.uk | All Rights Reserved.

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

Manage Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behaviour or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage {vendor_count} vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}