Gen Z's Preferences for Sustainable Attributes on Fast-moving Consumer Goods (FMCG): An Eye-tracking Study

Abstract

As the daily plastering of the degrading environment in society, it can be difficult for current generations to cope with the ongoing discussions. This has led Generation Z to have a more sustainability-oriented mindset when it comes to behaviour. But in which situations is this behaviour prominent? In an attempted to gain a better understanding of Generation Z’s behaviour when shopping for groceries, the following study aims to analyze:
“How can the biometric tool eye-tracking determine what drives Gen Z’s preferences and willingness-to-pay for products such as sustainable labels?”
The applied research design follows a pre-questionnaire to gain overall information about the perception of packaging labels in Denmark. Followed by an eye-tracking experiment with the aim of analyzing attention to sustainable labels on Fast-moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) packaging, in combination with a post-questionnaire with the aim to determine their pro-environmental behaviour. The findings were analyzed and discussed with the use of the framework Theory of Planned Behaviour by Icek Ajzen. The study was conducted on Generation Z in the age frame from 18 to 30 years old living in Denmark, Copenhagen. The sample size of 40 participants was divided into two groups based on their Pro-Environmental Behaviour.
Results of the study showed that attention to labels does equal higher WTP for the Gen Z segment with the highest pro-environmental score (Gen Z PEB 29+). However, some of the research suggests that labels are not often noticed to the highest extent by Gen Z, but it also found that for Gen Z PEB 29+, sustainable packaging choice does have an influence on their WTP.