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When Noor Hasan was a teenage shopper, she was heavily influenced by trends and bought lots of cheap clothes from fast fashion brands.
However, Hasan’s shopping habits have led her to be more careful about where she is older and her 23-year-old child shopped and whether the brand and retailer match her ethical and political beliefs.
More shoppers, and especially Gen Z shoppers, say they’re doing more mindful, purpose-driven shopping and what Lightspeed Commerce calls “ValueSpending.”
What are values?
In a new survey of 2,000 consumers over the age of 18 in the US and Canada, 92% of all respondents believe they are somewhat intentional about their purchases, while 40% say they are very intentional.
“Consumers today balance cost and conscience,” said Dax Dasilva, CEO and founder of Rightspeed, the POS commerce platform that serves a variety of retail and hospitality clients, in a press conference statement. “It’s not always about the lowest prices. It’s about choosing a brand that reflects their values, and if those values match, loyalty can continue more easily.
Survey respondents said price (78%) and quality (67%) remained important priorities, while more shoppers (62%) said it was important that their purchases match their personal value and identity.
moreover:
- 27% make purchases based on the pride of the people
- 18% supported the brand for charity or social causes
- 18% chose products for sustainability impact
- 15% are considered in CEO political alignment
ZZ Shoppers lead the trends in socially conscious shopping
When Gen Z shoppers reach age and thus their purchasing power, there has been a change in how they are buying and who they are buying from, Dasilva said.
“They are trendsetters because they’ve become targeted as consumers that everyone wants to sell,” he told USA Today.
Hasan, who lives in Los Angeles and enrolls in law school in the fall, said she changed her spending habits as she became more economically independent.
Instead of looking for the cheapest fashion discoveries, Hasan said she would be willing to spend more on clothing from brands she knows to pay workers fair wages.
Although she doesn’t spend much overall, she acknowledges that she often has to pay to buy from brands she believes, so she adjusts her shopping budget to buy less.
“I’m paying more and doing that less. I think it’s an ethical exchange I’m willing to make as a consumer,” she said.
Hasan, a Palestinian-American, said she would support and boycott businesses that align with her political beliefs. She is taking part in boycotting companies that have not shown support from Palestinians.
Gen Z shoppers fear being screened or cancelled
A Lightning Commerce survey found that one in three Gen Z respondents (32%) feared that they would be judged by purchasing from the “wrong” brand.
Over the past six months, Gen Z Shoppers said they have made purchase decisions to support or avoid brands based on sustainability/environmental impact (37%), localism or national pride (29%), and religious or cultural alignment (26%).
“There’s an element of peer pressure to make a statement on what we buy and what we wear,” Dasilva said.
Dasilva said that eco-friendly generation Z-shoppers and others helped to rise in second-hand vintage shopping.
Betty Lin-Fisher is a consumer reporter for USA Today. Contact her at blinfisher @usatoday.com or follow her on X, Facebook, or Instagram @Blinfisher, @Blinfisher.bsky.social.. Sign up for our free daily money newsletter. This includes Friday’s Consumer News.
