Climate change impacting consumer behaviour

Deepening concerns around inflation (96 percent) and climate change (84 percent) are pushing Canadians to change how they live and what they buy, says EY’s ‘Future Consumer Index Survey.’ For the more than half of consumers who indicate they're planning to buy less, 38 percent say this due to an effort to help the environment. Fashion accessories (60 percent) topped the list of product categories consumers plan to spend less on followed by toys and gadgets (52 percent) and clothing, footwear, beauty, and cosmetics (48 percent).

Two-thirds (64 percent) of Canadians attribute their efforts to drive change to a personal concern for the fragility of the planet (up eight percent from October 2022), there's a clear generational divide when it comes to behaviours like using less plastic, recycling more, or conserving water. Globally, 65 percent of Baby Boomers bring reusable bags to the store compared with just 43 percent of Gen Z, and 63 percent of Baby Boomers recycle or reuse packaging after use, compared with 48 percent of Millennials.