Conscious Shopping Observatory 2025: Sustainability Between Intentions and Actions

The new Conscious Shopping Observatory 2025 has been released, a project developed by NielsenIQ in collaboration with the University of Parma and the Retail Institute Italy. The study provides an indepth look at the relationship between what Italian shoppers say about sustainability and how they actually behave when purchasing products.

The report examines the role of retailers in enabling responsible choices, highlighting sustainability as a strategic driver that increasingly guides both consumer demand and the actions of manufacturers and distributors.

Sustainability: What Shoppers Really Want

Findings confirm that sustainability is rooted in everyday, practical behaviors, more than in declarations of principle.
The areas where Italians are most committed include:

• running washing machines/dishwashers only when full (91%)
• choosing local or seasonal food (55%)
• buying refill formats (50%)
• reducing packaging use and sustainability packaging (40%)

Price remains a major barrier: 49% of shoppers are not willing to pay more for sustainable products due to perceived higher costs.

The Three Pillars of Sustainability

IlThe Observatory framework is structured around three key dimensions:

• Good for Me – health, wellness, naturalness
• Good for Planet – environmental impact reduction, sustainable packaging
• Good for Society – ethics, Italian origin, protection of workers and animals

Among these, Good for Me stands out as the most influential factor in purchase decisions, whereas environmental and social aspects still need stronger support from the industry.

Six Shopper Clusters in Italy

The study identifies six meaningful shopper segments:

• Always Green – the most consistent and responsible (10%)
• Attentive Greens – quality-driven, highly engaged (19%)
• Greens by Chance – low declared sensitivity but sustainable behaviors (11%)
• I Wish but I Can’t – concerned but limited by budget (33%)
• Balancers – pragmatic and promodriven (12%)
• Never Green – little interest, pricedriven (15%)

Each cluster contributes differently to the sustainable shopping basket, offering valuable insights for marketing and category strategies.

Retailers Play a Decisive Role

The Observatory highlights the importance of retailer actions in turning sustainable intentions into real purchases. Key drivers include:

• accessible pricing
• a broad and wellstructured sustainable assortment
• promotional strategies
• private label development

These elements can engage even the least sustainabilityoriented consumers.

A Scientific and Operational Tool for the Entire Supply Chain

The Conscious Shopping Observatory 2025 represents a unique platform integrating:

• analysis of actual purchasing behavior (DO)
• analysis of declared intentions (SAY)
• retailer performance indicators
• shopper segmentation on sustainability

A comprehensive approach designed to help companies narrow the gap between what consumers say they want and what they actually buy.