Changes in Bottled Water Consumption Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic
Our survey revealed that while 58% of Americans did not change their bottled water purchasing habits because of the COVID-19 pandemic, 30% of people increased their bottled water purchases while only 12% decreased their purchases.
Of the 30% of Americans who increased their bottled water purchases because of the COVID-19 pandemic:
- 36% did so because bottled water is safer than tap water
- 35% did so because bottled water is convenient
- 26% did so because they wanted a backup water supply
- 3% said “other”
Of the 12% of Americans who have decreased their bottled water purchases because of the COVID-19 pandemic:
- 29% did so because they now use a water filtration system at home
- 26% did so because they want to be more environmentally conscious
- 21% did so because they believe bottled water is too expensive
- 6% did so because bottled water was harder to find during the pandemic
- 3% did so because they don’t trust the quality of bottled water
- 15% said “other”
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Overall, most people did not change the amount of bottled water they purchased due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. If they did change the frequency at which they bought bottled water, they were most likely to have increased the amount of bottled water they purchased. The most common reason for people increasing their purchase of bottled water is because it’s perceived to be safer than tap water. On the other hand, the most common reason for people decreasing their purchase of bottled water was because they now use a water filtration system at home.
Reusable Water Bottle Purchase Statistics
Beyond trust and purchasing statistics related to bottled water, we also wanted to see who’s purchasing reusable water bottles. Our survey revealed that more than half of Americans (55%) have purchased a reusable water bottle in the past year because they are environmentally sustainable.
Here’s a demographic breakdown of who purchased a reusable water bottle in the last year because they are environmentally sustainable:
- Reusable Bottle Purchases by Age: 69% of Gen Z purchased a reusable water bottle in the past year because they are environmentally sustainable, which was significantly higher than any other age group. For reference, the next closest was Millennials with 56%, followed by Gen X with 49% and Baby Boomers with 46%. This is interesting because Gen Z was far more likely to buy a reusable water bottle than other generations, but also had trust and usage of bottled water which is bad for the environment. Despite high bottled water purchases, this aligns with other research that shows Gen Z has a strong desire to make lifestyle changes in order to be more environmentally sustainable.
- Reusable Bottle Purchases by Gender: In the past year, 61% of women purchased a reusable water bottle because they are environmentally sustainable, while only 51% of men did so.
- Reusable Bottle Purchases by Region: From a regional perspective, no particular region stood out for an abnormally higher or lower rate of reusable water bottle purchases in order to be more environmentally sustainable. The West had the highest rate at 57%, followed by the Midwest at 56%, the Northeast at 55%, and the South at 53%. That is to say, purchasing behavior of reusable water bottles for environmental reasons is less impacted by geography than it is by other demographic factors.
- Reusable Bottle Purchases by Urban/Suburban/Rural Classification: As discussed above, geography didn’t have a large impact on the likelihood of someone purchasing a reusable water bottle to be environmentally sustainable. People in suburban areas were most likely to do so (57%), followed by people living in urban areas (56%), and people living in rural areas were least likely to do so (51%).
- Reusable Bottle Purchases by Income: The likelihood of purchasing a reusable water bottle to be environmentally sustainable increased in correlation with income. We found that 59% of upper income individuals purchased a reusable water bottle in the past year to be environmentally sustainable, followed by 57% of middle income individuals, and last was low income individuals at a rate of 51%.
- Reusable Bottle Purchases by Parental Status: Parents and non-parents were equally likely to have purchased a reusable water bottle in the last year in order to be environmentally sustainable, as 55% of each group did so.
Overall, in the past year more than half of almost every demographic purchased a reusable water bottle because they are environmentally sustainable. Interestingly, the only factor that led to significantly different results among respective groups was age. For age, we saw a difference of 23% between the groups that were most (Gen Z) and least (Baby Boomers) likely to purchase a reusable water bottle because they’re environmentally sustainable. For all other demographic factors, there was never a difference of more than 10% between the groups that were most and least likely to have purchased a reusable water bottle in the past year.
Stop Using Disposable Bottles
Now that you have plenty of information, hopefully you’ve come to the conclusion that single-use bottled water is not the best option for your health or the environment.
Instead, we recommend using a water filter at home and bringing a reusable bottle when you’re on-the-go. Aquasana has a wide selection of water filters including whole house, under sink, countertop, and shower filters to suit your needs. For help choosing the right option, contact us for more information!
