Expectations for sustainable retail growing: First Insight

28 Jan '20

3 min read

Pic: Shutterstock

As the oldest members of generation Z move into the workforce, they are making more shopping decisions based on sustainable retail practices than even millennials and generation X, according to a recent study by First Insight, a technology company transforming how retailers and brands make product investment, pricing and marketing decisions.

Baby boomers are far less concerned with sustainability when it comes to the items they buy, even less so than their predecessors, the silent generation, it found.

The study, titled ‘The State of Consumer Spending: Gen Z Shoppers Demand Sustainable Retail’, said 62 per cent of generation Z survey participants prefer to buy from sustainable brands, on par with millennials, while 54 per cent of generation X and 44 per cent of the silent generation said the same.

However, only 39 per cent of baby boomers agreed, pointing to a vast divide between baby boomers and younger generations, according to a press release from the company.

Generation Z is also the most willing to pay more for sustainable products (73 per cent) compared to millennials (68 per cent), generation X (55 per cent) and baby boomers (42 per cent). Half of the silent generation expressed this sentiment.

The majority of generation Z (54 per cent) are willing to spend an incremental 10 per cent or more on sustainable products, versus 50 per cent of millennials, 34 per cent of generation X, 23 per cent of baby boomers and 36 per cent of the silent generation.

Recommerce is gaining traction across every generation with generation Z (59 per cent), generation X (63 per cent), millennials (64 per cent) and the silent generation (62 per cent) and even baby boomers (52 per cent) say they shop the secondary markets.

The majority of younger generations would purchase upcycled products made of discarded objects or materials to create a product of higher quality or perceived value than the original. Interestingly, the silent generation was more inclined to buy upcycled products than baby Boomers, with 52 per cent saying they would buy upcycled products.

While moderately popular with millennials (24 per cent) and generation Z (29 per cent), clothing swaps are not as widely adopted as other recommerce models, with less than 20 per cent of generation X, baby boomer and the silent generation respondents reporting using them.

Peer-to-peer marketplaces like Storr and rentals are least popular overall, with less than 10 per cent of respondents reporting using them.

When asked why respondents shop sustainable brands, quality ranked higher than environmental concerns across every generation. Seventy eight per cent of generation Z, 85 per cent of millennials, 81 per cent of generation X, 83 per cent of baby boomers and 70 per cent of the silent generation ranked quality as important.

While both factors were rated as important, environmental concerns ranked lower, with only 70 per cent of generation Z, 71 per cent of millennials, 70 per cent of generation X, 72 per cent of baby boomers and 66 per cent of the silent generation respondents ranking it as important.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)

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