IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v11y2019i13p3607-d244521.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

U.S. Sustainable Food Market Generation Z Consumer Segments

Author

Listed:
  • Ching-Hui (Joan) Su

    (Department of Apparel, Events, and Hospitality Management, College of Human Sciences, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011-1078, USA)

  • Chin-Hsun (Ken) Tsai

    (Department of Apparel, Events, and Hospitality Management, College of Human Sciences, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011-1078, USA)

  • Ming-Hsiang Chen

    (Tourism and Social Administration College, Nanjing Xiaozhuang University, Nanjing 211171, China
    School of Hospitality Business Management, Carson College of Business, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164-4742, USA)

  • Wan Qing Lv

    (School of Business and Tourism Management, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China)

Abstract

This study explores the interaction between environmental consciousness and sustainable food attributes as predictors in the market segmentation process for sustainable foods with respect to United States (U.S.) Generation Z (Gen Z) consumers. This study was executed using a cross-national, web-based survey to analyze and categorize Gen Z female (n = 435) and male (n = 377) consumers between 18 and 23 years of age living in the continental United States. The objectives of this study were to classify U.S. Gen Z consumers into unique segments based on their environmental consciousness and to assess the functional relationships among the following: (a) their degree of ecological awareness; (b) the importance of the perception of sustainable food attributes; (c) their food choices associated with healthy eating habits; and (d) sociodemographics. Survey data were analyzed using cluster analysis of consumer groups based on environmental consciousness. Environmental consciousness was measured using a composite score of the environmental involvement scale and the environmental values scale. Gen Z consumers with high environmental consciousness (sustainable activists) and moderate ecological awareness (sustainable believers) considered more eco-friendly and healthy product attributes when purchasing sustainable food, whereas Gen Z consumers with low environmental consciousness (sustainable moderates) considered more extrinsic product attributes (e.g., price and convenience). Furthermore, the results indicate that food choices associated with healthy eating habits could be used to develop a profile for different eco-conscious Gen Z consumer groups. The contributions of this study are twofold. First, for academic researchers, this paper extends marketing segmentation research concerning environmentally sensitive young consumers. Second, for industry professionals, this study provides food retailers or food service operators with sustainable consumer values that will aid in the development of effective, green marketing strategies to better attract and meet the sustainability expectations of Gen Z—the consumer segment with the most spending power of any generation.

Suggested Citation

  • Ching-Hui (Joan) Su & Chin-Hsun (Ken) Tsai & Ming-Hsiang Chen & Wan Qing Lv, 2019. "U.S. Sustainable Food Market Generation Z Consumer Segments," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(13), pages 1-14, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:13:p:3607-:d:244521
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/13/3607/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/13/3607/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Camilla Barbarossa & Patrick Pelsmacker, 2016. "Positive and Negative Antecedents of Purchasing Eco-friendly Products: A Comparison Between Green and Non-green Consumers," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 134(2), pages 229-247, March.
    2. Roitner-Schobesberger, Birgit & Darnhofer, Ika & Somsook, Suthichai & Vogl, Christian R., 2008. "Consumer perceptions of organic foods in Bangkok, Thailand," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(2), pages 112-121, April.
    3. Henry Kaiser, 1974. "An index of factorial simplicity," Psychometrika, Springer;The Psychometric Society, vol. 39(1), pages 31-36, March.
    4. Chih-Cheng Chen & Chien-Wen Chen & Yi-Chun Tung, 2018. "Exploring the Consumer Behavior of Intention to Purchase Green Products in Belt and Road Countries: An Empirical Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-18, March.
    5. Asghar Afshar Jahanshahi & Jianfeng Jia, 2018. "Purchasing Green Products as a Means of Expressing Consumers’ Uniqueness: Empirical Evidence from Peru and Bangladesh," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-17, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Osarodion Ogiemwonyi & Amran Harun & Mohammad Imtiaz Hossain & Asif Mahbub Karim, 2023. "The Influence of Green Behaviour Using Theory of Planned Behaviour Approach: Evidence from Malaysia," Millennial Asia, , vol. 14(4), pages 582-604, December.
    2. Arian Matin & Tornike Khoshtaria & Metin Marcan & Davit Datuashvili, 2022. "The roles of hedonistic, utilitarian incentives and government policies affecting customer attitudes and purchase intention towards green products," International Review on Public and Nonprofit Marketing, Springer;International Association of Public and Non-Profit Marketing, vol. 19(4), pages 709-735, December.
    3. Aistė Čapienė & Aušra Rūtelionė & Manuela Tvaronavičienė, 2021. "Pro-Environmental and Pro-Social Engagement in Sustainable Consumption: Exploratory Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-20, February.
    4. Nornajihah Nadia Hasbullah & Zuraidah Sulaiman & Adaviah Mas’od & Hanis Syuhada Ahmad Sugiran, 2022. "Drivers of Sustainable Apparel Purchase Intention: An Empirical Study of Malaysian Millennial Consumers," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-24, February.
    5. Chun-Chu Liu & Chu-Wei Chen & Han-Shen Chen, 2019. "Measuring Consumer Preferences and Willingness to Pay for Coffee Certification Labels in Taiwan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(5), pages 1-13, March.
    6. Radu Ciobanu & Claudia-Elena Țuclea & Luciana-Floriana Holostencu & Diana-Maria Vrânceanu, 2022. "Decision-Making Factors in the Purchase of Ecologic Products," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-26, August.
    7. Lillemo, Shuling Chen, 2014. "Measuring the effect of procrastination and environmental awareness on households' energy-saving behaviours: An empirical approach," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 249-256.
    8. Xiaoxu Dong & Huawei Zhao & Tiancai Li, 2022. "The Role of Live-Streaming E-Commerce on Consumers’ Purchasing Intention regarding Green Agricultural Products," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-13, April.
    9. Ting Chi & Olabisi Adesanya & Hang Liu & Rebecca Anderson & Zihui Zhao, 2023. "Renting than Buying Apparel: U.S. Consumer Collaborative Consumption for Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-16, March.
    10. Simplice A. Asongu & Nicholas M. Odhiambo, 2019. "Governance, capital flight and industrialisation in Africa," Journal of Economic Structures, Springer;Pan-Pacific Association of Input-Output Studies (PAPAIOS), vol. 8(1), pages 1-22, December.
    11. Pamela E. Ofori & Simplice A. Asongu & Vanessa S. Tchamyou, 2021. "The Synergy between Governance and Economic Integration in Promoting Female Economic Inclusion in Sub-Saharan Africa," Working Papers 21/071, European Xtramile Centre of African Studies (EXCAS).
    12. Simplice A. Asongu, 2014. "Knowledge Economy and Financial Sector Competition in African Countries," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 26(2), pages 333-346, June.
    13. Chimere O. Iheonu, 2019. "Governance and Domestic Investment in Africa," Working Papers 19/001, European Xtramile Centre of African Studies (EXCAS).
    14. Rodríguez-Fuentes, Carlos Javier & Hernández-López, Montserrat, 1997. "Análisis de diferencias estructurales interregionales determinantes en el impacto de la política monetaria," Estudios de Economia Aplicada, Estudios de Economia Aplicada, vol. 7, pages 141-157, Junio.
    15. Chun-Hsi Vivian Chen & Yu-Cheng Chen, 2021. "Assessment of Enhancing Employee Engagement in Energy-Saving Behavior at Workplace: An Empirical Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-18, February.
    16. Asongu, Simplice & Tchamyou, Vanessa & Asongu, Ndemaze & Tchamyou, Nina, 2018. "The Comparative African Economics of Governance in Fighting Terrorism," MPRA Paper 92346, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    17. Leiv Gabrielsen & Pål Ulleberg & Reidulf Watten, 2012. "The Adolescent Life Goal Profile Scale: Development of a New Scale for Measurements of Life Goals Among Young People," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 13(6), pages 1053-1072, December.
    18. Simplice A. Asongu & Rexon T. Nting & Joseph Nnanna, 2020. "Linkages between Globalisation, Carbon Dioxide Emissions and Governance in Sub-Saharan Africa," International Journal of Public Administration, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 43(11), pages 949-963, August.
    19. Simplice A Asongu, 2013. "Modeling the future of knowledge economy: evidence from SSA and MENA countries," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 33(1), pages 612-624.
    20. Megha Gupta & Suhasini Verma & Smita Pachare, 2023. "An analysis of Conventional and Alternative financing—Customers' perspective," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(3), pages 2404-2414, July.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:13:p:3607-:d:244521. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.