There’s no doubt that we’re living in a divisive time, both politically and culturally, in the United States.
But could consumers’ stronger-than-usual feelings about politics and current events influence their purchasing decisions this holiday season?
A new holiday-shopping survey conducted by retail marketing and analytics firm NPD Group found that more consumers this year than last year reported that a company’s position on current social, environmental, and political issues “would affect their purchasing decisions over the holidays,” according to a statement from NPD Group.
Younger respondents, in particular Generation Z consumers born after 1997, were were most sensitive to a company’s stance on social, political, and environmental issues.
More than half of consumers (52 percent) said that a company’s “position on social or environmental issues would impact their holiday buying decisions,” marking a 3 percent rise from 2017. But among Gen Z respondents, that number spiked to 65 percent—which is significant: Gen Z will make up 40 percent of all consumers by 2020.
55 percent of millennials—consumers born between 1981 and 1996—said a business’s social or environmental stance would affect how they spent this year.
