These days, tens of millions continue to consider themselves doomsday preppers, quietly spending billions of dollars each year shopping for products to get ready for a catastrophic event. But at the same time, many younger consumers have begun taking an interest in what’s known as practical preparedness.

So, what is practical preparedness, why are younger consumers embracing it, and how exactly are they approaching it and using it to their advantage? Keep reading to find out.

What Is Practical Preparedness?

Before we discuss why practical preparedness has become so popular among younger consumers, you need to know what it is. Generally speaking, practical preparedness is a less intense version of traditional doomsday prepping.

Rather than rushing to remote parts of the country to build bunkers, those who engage in practical preparedness take simpler, common-sense steps to prepare for potential disasters.

Here are several key pillars of practical preparedness:

• Incorporating habits into everyday life that promote safety, such as actively practicing situational awareness and charging smartphones and other electronic devices “just in case”
• Devising emergency plans that dictate how to respond in the aftermath of natural disasters, terrorist attacks, widespread power outages, etc.
• Acquiring basic life skills, like how to perform CPR, to improve the chances of survival following calamities

Why Are Younger Consumers Embracing Practical Preparedness?

Interestingly, surveys have suggested up to 86% of Generation Zers feel hopeful about their futures. Yet, this hasn’t deterred them from practicing practical preparedness.

Why is this? Many factors have helped push younger consumers toward embracing it. Let’s take a closer look at them next.

Read: Is Tory Burch Better Than Michael Kors | A Detailed Comparison

Financial Troubles

Unfortunately, studies have shown Gen Z has the lowest financial literacy among generations currently living in the U.S. One recent study found that fewer than 40% of Gen Z can correctly answer simple financial questions.

Couple this with the fact that Gen Z is facing a higher cost of living than most generations before it, and it’s no wonder that younger consumers have embraced practical preparedness. They have no choice but to prepare for possible financial destruction by:

• Figuring out how to create and use detailed budgets
• Implementing effective saving strategies
• Putting smart spending tactics in place and sticking to them

Some Gen Zers are even going as far as to engage in “revenge saving.” It involves dramatically reducing discretionary spending to prioritize putting together emergency funds.

Climate Change Concerns

Taking care of the environment is a main goal of many Gen Zers. Nearly 70% believe it should be a top priority for everyone.

This shouldn’t come as a surprise, considering those who are a part of Gen Z grew up at a time when the world was beginning to realize the planet’s fragile state. But instead of throwing their hands up and accepting the world’s fate, they’re working to try to make positive changes by:

• Rejecting so-called “fast fashion” and single-use products
• Supporting companies that take environmental responsibility seriously
• Spreading the word about climate change on social media platforms

About one-third of Gen Zers consider themselves activists, and many have taken up the cause of saving the planet, one Facebook post, tweet, and TikTok clip at a time.

Mental Health and Self-Care Challenges

Over 40% of Gen Zs have been diagnosed with at least one mental health condition. As a result, they tend to take mental health more seriously than previous generations and understand the importance of self-care.

One way many Gen Zers practice self-care is by engaging in practical preparedness. In an extremely uncertain world, it provides them with a stronger sense of control, alleviating anxiety and minimizing issues like economic stress.

How Are Younger Consumers Approaching Practical Preparedness?

Younger consumers usually approach practical preparedness with the same enthusiasm that older Americans have traditionally brought to doomsday prepping. However, they do it by taking decidedly different steps.

These are a few examples:

• Establishing emergency funds
• Creating emergency kits to make sheltering in place more manageable
• Recognizing the potential for digital grid outages and preparing accordingly

Young people have lived through the COVID pandemic and gotten an up-close-and-personal look at wars, social injustices, and other tragedies online. Not much catches them off guard anymore, further explaining their penchant for practical preparedness.

Young Consumers Have Latched On to Practical Preparedness Like No Other Generation

Generation Z has earned a reputation for being more practical, cautious, and pragmatic than previous generations. This is why it isn’t shocking to see Gen Z practicing practical preparedness at an accelerating rate.
Gen Z is also adopting some of the prepping tactics introduced by previous generations, such as investing in high-end custom knives and other tools. Browse our lifestyle blog articles to discover more about this generation’s growing impact.

The post The Rise of Practical Preparedness Among Younger Consumers appeared first on Shopping Rightly.