A comparison of sustainability attitudes and intentions across generations and gender: a perspective from U.S. consumers

Abstract

As firms increasingly focus on corporate sustainability initiatives and offer more sustainability-related products, there is a need to continually assess consumer attitudes towards and involvement in sustainable consumption. Additionally, there is a need to determine if some consumer characteristics may typify how they think, feel, and behave towards sustainability initiatives. Based on an online sample of 1,250 U.S. consumers, this present research utilizes a cross-sectional design to examine whether generational cohort and gender help explain variations in how consumers react to the notion of sustainability. This research is also focused on sustainability in the food and grocery industry. The findings suggest that attitudes towards sustainability and the degree to which consumers feel sustainability is important is more positive for younger consumers and women. The Baby Boomer generation is less interested in sustainable consumption and less likely to be persuaded by sustainability claims. The main limitations of this study are that data were collected only through self-reporting from consumers in the United States. For marketers promoting sustainability-related products, this data should help them better understand segments of the U.S. market and develop more successful promotional initiatives. Knowing the nuances of how generational cohorts think about sustainability and how they may consider it when making purchase decisions should motivate marketers to utilize these differences when creating their marketing mix. Though some marketers are moving away from gender-based promotional tactics, the findings also suggest that gender segmentation could still be useful when it comes to sustainability-related products.