Sustainability is becoming increasingly important in online shopping, but is largely overshadowed by price when making purchasing decisions. This is the result of a representative, current study by the market research company Skopos on behalf of the savings portal “Green Vouchers”.
Overall, 74 percent of consumers regularly use vouchers when shopping online, and 57 percent specifically look for discount codes. Women use vouchers more often and research discount codes more actively than men.
Vouchers motivate people to try out more sustainable products
Sustainability also plays a role in consumers’ purchasing decisions, but more sustainable products are often not chosen due to their higher price. According to the authors of the study, these products only attract interest when they are priced competitively or become more attractive through vouchers and discounts. Accordingly, price savings prove to be the most important incentive for purchasing sustainable products. Almost half of those surveyed cited vouchers or discounts as a motivating factor. Comprehensible information on ecological and social responsibility as well as trustworthy labels follow ten percent behind. 58 percent buy more often when more sustainable items are reduced. If there is no difference in costs, 58 percent of study participants also choose the green alternative. However, without any savings advantage, almost 42 percent prefer conventional goods.
Despite these barriers, sustainable consumption is increasing overall: More than 50 percent of those surveyed say they buy sustainable products more often today than they did five years ago. This trend is particularly pronounced among younger target groups – around 60 percent of Gen Z and Millennials shop more consciously, while the proportion of Gen X and Boomers is around 46 percent. Overall, almost half of those surveyed consider sustainability in online shopping to be (very) important, while only 18 percent rate it as unimportant. The relevance varies significantly depending on the product category. Sustainability has the greatest influence on purchasing decisions for food (61 percent), followed by fashion and textiles (41 percent) and drugstore and cosmetic products (35 percent). In areas such as electronics, furniture or travel, however, the influence is significantly less.
For consumers, the most important sustainability features are visible factors: 54 percent pay attention to environmentally friendly packaging, 42 percent to sustainable materials and 36 percent to regional origin. At the same time, there is a generational difference: While around 57 percent of the older generations cite packaging as an important criterion, the proportion among Gen Z is only 46 percent.
A total of 1,000 people were surveyed between March 4th and 11th, 2026. The results are representative of the resident population in Germany aged 18 and over. The savings portal Green Vouchers has been providing users with vouchers and discount campaigns from sustainable partner shops and various online shop categories since 2020. Green vouchers give 30 percent of the proceeds to the non-profit tropical forest foundation OroVerde. further
