Kids want ethically conscious shops and short delivery time

Children are looking for shops that are ethically conscious. Almost one in five want to buy plastic-free products that are sustainable and most kids aren’t that patient when it comes to the delivery of goods.

Most studies on online consumer behaviour in Europe are focused on adults. That’s no surprise, because they are usually the ones who spend the money when an online order is ready to be completed. But it could be very interesting and maybe even eye-opening to study the shopping behaviour of children. And that’s exactly what Wunderman Thompson Commerce did.

It investigated the shopping habits of American and British kids aged 6-16, an age group sometimes defined as Generation Alpha. The study shows that two out of three children prefer to buy from companies that do good in the world.

13-16 year olds are biggest supporters of sustainable ecommerce

It also found that 18 percent of children prefer to buy products that are sustainable and not plastic. It’s especially the group of kids aged 13 to 16 years that are the biggest supporters of sustainable ecommerce, with 24 percent avoiding plastic.

Kids seem more impatient than adults when it comes to their expectations around delivery. Children are willing to wait an average of 2.23 days for a delivery, while adults are prepared to wait for almost three days (2.95). The respondents aged 6-9 are the least tolerant, because they only want to wait for 1.95 days to have retailers, brands and marketplaces deliver their goods.

20% won’t buy if store doesn’t deliver next day

The study shows that nearly half of children will share photos of their order once they’ve received it, which might be interesting for online retailers who are ready to invest in social media marketing. But what’s maybe even more interesting to note, is that one in five children say they will never buy from an online store that can’t deliver the next day.

‘Awareness of environment has skyrocketed’

“Tomorrow’s generation of shoppers want it all: a future of sustainable products, delivered even more quickly, exceeding expectations of previous generations”, Hugh Fletcher from Wunderman Thompson Commerce says. “As environmental activism becomes increasingly mainstream across the news and social media, awareness of the issue has skyrocketed. At the same time, however, so too have the needs of a generation increasingly accustomed to immediacy and products ‘on demand’.”

He says online retailers and brands have quite a challenge ahead. “As logistical and supply costs are likely to go up with the increasing demands of customers, it’s no longer enough to consider one or the other. As children ‘mature’ into consumers with real purchasing power, retailers and brands need to be thinking about both – and plan well enough in advance for a future they probably haven’t yet considered.”