Study: Gen Z most likely to stockpile electricals
A study by online electricals retailer AO has found that 18 to 24 year olds are the biggest tech hoarders with an average of six unused devices in their home.
According to the survey of 2,000 UK consumers, some 46% of people in the age bracket were found to have retained between six and ten electrical items, whereas the UK average is only three.
On average, the people surveyed estimated that their hoarded electricals were worth £228.
The research also revealed that young people were the most materialistic regarding their electrical items. Some 35% of young people polled said they always bought the latest model, which made them five times more likely to upgrade than 45 to 64 year olds. Meanwhile, a third of youngsters said they liked to upgrade their devices after only a year of use, whereas over 70% of 65 year olds and over said they would only buy a new electrical item when something was broken.
When asked why they are so slow to part with their gadgets, a third of UK shoppers said they liked to keep items as a back-up, while concerns about privacy were prevalent among 18-24 year olds with 51% saying they kept their tech due to worries about personal data. In addition, the research found that eight out of ten UK shoppers agreed that if there was an easy way to recycle their old electricals and appliances, they would take advantage of the service.
Robert Sant, managing director of AO Recycling, said: “The new research shows that people clearly want to recycle their old electricals and appliances. They often end up collecting dust or fly tipped on the street when we could help to reduce our impact on the environment by just recycling them.”
“Over the past year, we’ve seen an increase in people taking advantage of our recycling service, with AO Recycling receiving 68% more unwanted fridges compared to the previous year. We believe it is the responsibility of retailers and manufacturers to make it as easy and hassle-free as possible for people to safety recycle these items.”
AO.com currently offers a collect & recycle service, where both customers and the public can book to have their appliances taken away to be responsibly recycled at AO’s fridge recycling plant in Telford.
