45% of global consumers likely to toss out eco-friendly groceries amid tight budgets

In a recent YouGov survey, we asked consumers across 18 international markets which categories they are likely or unlikely to cut spending in the face of stressed household budgets.

Nearly half of all global consumers (48%) say they are either likely or very likely to cut back on buying more consumer electronics like LED lights and solar water heaters to manage inflation induced budget squeezes. Less than half of the consumers (46%) say they’re likely to reduce sustainable apparel and shoes purchases amid spending cutbacks.

Compared to other categories, global consumers are least likely to cut back spending on healthcare products (40%) and sports gear (42%).

Likelihood to cut back on buying environmentally friendly food and beverage items by country

Zooming into individual markets, India stands out as the country with the highest proportion of consumers (63%) who are likely to trade down on eco-friendly food and beverage purchases to accommodate squeezed household budgets. Consumers in the UAE are not too far behind with around six in ten consumers (60%) saying they would do the same, followed by Indonesia (57%).

Consumers in the US are the least likely (31%) to cut back on buying environmentally- friendly food and beverage products. Among other countries that are least likely to cut back spend on such items are Germany (37%), Sweden (38%), Denmark (38%) and Great Britain (38%).

Almost half of the consumers in Australia (49%), France (47%) and Singapore (46%) would cut back spend on eco-friendly food and beverage purchases to tackle tightened household budgets

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Methodology: YouGov Surveys: Serviced provide quick survey results from nationally representative or targeted audiences in multiple markets. The data is based on surveys of adults aged 18+ years in 18 markets with sample sizes varying between 511 and 1999 for each market. All surveys were conducted online in May 2023. Data from each market uses a nationally representative sample apart from Mexico and India, which use urban representative samples, and Indonesia and Hong Kong, which use online representative samples. Learn more about YouGov Surveys: Serviced.

Photo by Maria Lin Kim on Unsplash