Abstract:

This research aimed to analyze attitudes and sustainable purchasing behaviors when purchasing food among Portuguese consumers of Generations Z, Y and X. Specifically, to identify statistically significant differences on the interest in ecological knowledge, level of knowledge of ecological issues, ecological purchasing habits and conscious purchasing planning and, consequently, sustainable attitudes and behaviors when purchasing food considering the generation factor. To achieve theses objectives, a quantitative and cross-sectional approach was used. In this context, a questionnaire adapted from Kuźniar, Surmacz and Wierzbiński (2021) was used to collect the data. The data collection instrument was applied between September 2022 and the first fortnight of January 2023. Thus, primary data was collected based on a non-probabilistic sample for convenience that included 686 Portuguese consumers from Generations Z (n = 487), Y (n = 82) and X (n = 117). Later, the non-parametric Mann-Whitney and the Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to identify statistically significant differences between two and three independent groups, respectively. The results confirm that generation is a differentiating factor in sustainable attitudes and behaviors. In fact, the existence of statistically significant differences between Generations Z, Y and X regarding the interest in ecological knowledge, ecological purchasing habits and sustainable attitudes and behaviors when purchasing food, are proof of this. Furthermore, it was found that Generations X and Y had identical attitudes and behaviors, differentiating them from Generation Z. Regarding the level of knowledge of ecological issues and conscious purchasing planning, attitudes were similar in the three generations analyzed.