Study unveils conscious consumer trends among LGBTQ+ community
April 4, 2024A study shedding light on conscious consumer behavior reveals a growing trend towards altruism among the LGBTQ+ community.
The latest LGBTQ+ census on societal and brand attitudes from Outvertising and YouGov – of 370,000 UK consumers aged 18+ of whom 21,763 identified as LGBTQ+ – found that more than a third (38%) of LGBTQ+ consumers are motivated by whether the products were cruelty-free (i.e. not tested on animals). Additionally, 21% of LGBTQ+ people named sustainability as a motivation behind a purchase, compared to only 11% of non-LGBTQ+ people.
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In fact, half (50%) of LGBTQ+ people believe that it’s more ethical to be vegetarian than not, compared with 26% non-LGBTQ+. Similar levels of agreement can be seen towards veganism where the number of LGBTQ+ folks is double (43%) that of non-LGBTQIA+ respondents (23%). They are also more likely to reject a brand if the brand’s views are not in alignment with their own, outpacing the non-LGBTQ+ audience (50%) As the role of brands in society continues to evolve, 60% of LGBTQ+ people in the UK believe that brands should express their views on political and social issues compared to 41% of non-LGBTQ+ people. The LGBTQ+ community also believe that brands should take this further and get involved with social issues (59% vs 37%) and are more likely to reject a brand if its views are not aligned with their own, out-pacing the non-LGBTQ+ audience (64% vs 50%).
The study also noted a distinct preference for certain types of messaging from brands. The data indicates that LGBTQ+ respondents wants to see messaging that aligns with LGBTQ+ rights (58% VS 10%), Gender issues e.g. #MeToo (45% vs 8%), environmental rights (63% vs 35%), and human rights (62% vs 24%).
For brands that get voice, authenticity, values, and message right, LGBTQ+ people are ready to be your champions, noted the report. Brands also have a responsibility to ensure authentic and ‘real’ representation in ads is prioritised, even more so as the LGBTQ+ consumer is more likely to favour seeing ‘real looking people’ in ads than their non-LGBTQ+ counterparts (70% vs 64%).
The need for ‘real’ is critical when just 25% of LGBTQ+ people are fairly or very happy with their body image, compared with 31% non-LGBTQ+, highlighted the report. As might be expected due to societal pressures, women score lower than men across all sexual identities: 52% of lesbians and 57% of bisexual women are not happy with their body image. Advertising plays a key role in this negative view as more than half of LGBTQ+ people claim that advertising affects how they perceive their body image, compared with just 1 in 3 non-LGBTQ+. Young people are especially susceptible, with 68% of LGBTQ+ Gen Z consumers agreeing.
As a community, LGBTQ+ people present a distinct audience in the increasingly evolving digital landscape, revealed the report. While a majority (57%) rank online safety as important, there is a marked emphasis on the importance of free expression, with a noteworthy 30%of LGBTQ+ respondents responding positively to their belief in the fundamental right to voice their thoughts freely, compared to only 18% of their non-LGBTQ+ counterparts.
Surprisingly, despite ongoing conversations about social media platforms becoming unsafe spaces for the community, this craving of freedom means that LGBTQ+ audiences are less inclined to support ‘much more’ regulation compared to non-LGBTQ+ (9% vs 22%), with 50% endorsing the current level of regulation or favouring less, compared to 34% of non-LGBTQ+ individuals. This dynamic is especially prevalent among the younger generations within the LGBTQ+ community, who are not aligned with the notion of stricter regulations compared to their peers.
Commenting on the report findings, Lucy McKillop and Marty Davies, joint CEOs at Outvertising, stated: “LGBTQ+ inclusion in marketing has been proven time and time again to positively affect brand affinity, reputation, and sales. And, it allows for people in our community to see themselves on TV, billboards, in radio and print, which strengthens identity, promotes acceptance, and ultimately, contributes to better quality of life for members of the community. We believe it is imperative for brands to activate on the findings found within this report to understand what they want and need from brands, and how to ensure everything they do is authentic and representative.”
Adding to their comments, Greg Dagger, Head of the Data Products Team at YouGov, said: “At YouGov our purpose is to give the world a voice, and the Outvertising Consumer Report elevates the voices of the LGBTQ+ community. The data in the report demonstrates that it is not a monolithic audience and its insights highlight the importance of providing brands and advertisers with the tools to take a targeted and data-led approach to their marketing. These findings are only possible through our inclusive data collection and we are proud of our work in this area.”
Click here to download the latest report that explores the latest attitudes and intentions of LGBTQ+ people from Outvertising.
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