Consumer Report: Bottled Water

Water is our best friend. Whether it’s a refreshing shower or a hydrating drink, we can’t live without it. We were curious to learn how people throughout Europe consume water these days. Do they (still) buy plastic bottles and if yes; how, when and where? Are there major differences between European countries when it comes to buying water and if so… why?

We asked our large community of mobile users to tell us about their water consumption and shopping behavior. Read all our interesting findings in our latest Consumer Report.

THE MAJORITY OF EUROPEANS CONSUME WATER FROM PLASTIC BOTTLES

78% of Europeans drink water from (plastic) water bottles. 53% of respondents drink water from water bottles everyday, and 18% multiple times a week.

Drinking bottled water is least popular in the Netherlands. Only 26% of Dutch respondents state to drink water from water bottles on a daily basis. Italy and Spain, however, rank the highest when it comes to daily consumption of bottled water. (IT = 78%, ES = 76%)

Being on-the-go a popular reason to buy bottled water

The most popular places to buy water bottles are supermarkets (97%) and gas stations (13%). Compared to the European average of 13%, gas stations are a far more popular location to buy water in the UK (31%)

With a European average of 56%, being on-the-go is the most popular reason to buy water bottles. However, in France, Spain and Italy, the most chosen reason to buy bottled water is the taste of the tap water (ES = 57%, IT & FR = 48%). In the Netherlands, only 7% of consumers state to opt for bottled water because of disliking the taste of tap water.

WATER VARIETIES POPULAR AMONGST EUROPEANS

24% of Europeans state to drink both sparkling and flavored water. 22% just keeps it at sparkling water, and 13% only drinks flavored water. On the opposite note, 41% doesn’t drink either of them. In Spain, an impressing 72% says to drink neither flavored, nor sparkling water.

Top 3 reasons to drink sparkling water:

  1. “I drink it to alternate with still water” – 48%
  2. “I like the carbonated taste” – 46%
  3. “It’s my 46% substitute for Sodas” – 31%

Top 3 reasons to drink flavored water:

  1. “I drink it to alternate with still water” – 45%
  2. “It’s my 46% substitute for Sodas” – 43%
  3. “It refreshes my mouth” – 28%

Multi-packs with large water bottles favorite

Respondents from the UK and the Netherlands show different preferences compared to the other participating countries when it comes to package size and quantity. They score way higher on
preferring singular bottles of 500 ML and score (way) lower on buying multi-packs of big water bottles.

Europeans’ favorite water bottle size is 1,5 liters (55%), followed by a smaller 500 milliliters (42%). When it comes to package quantities, a 6-pack with water bottles of 1 to 1,5 liters is by far (40%) the most preferred quantity. Followed by one singular bottle of 500 milliliters (16%).

SINGLE-USE PLASTIC

43% of Europeans is concerned with buying single-use plastic when buying bottled water. Therefore, 52% often reuses the plastic water bottles.

Of the people who never drink water from water bottles, 35% says their main reason is the single-use plastic. For 24% of those, the issue has just recently become more prominent. 28% would start buying bottled water if the packaging was more eco-friendly.

WATER-BUYING FREQUENCY & PRICING PREFERENCE

72% of Europeans always opt for the brand with the best price or promotion. A smaller 28%, however, doesn’t mind the price at all.

28% of Europeans buy water once a week. Whilst most participating countries scored highest on the “once a week” answer option, Germany and the Netherlands both scored highest on the “less than monthly” option for water-buying frequency (DE = 28%, NL = 31%).

PREFERRED TOP 3 WATER BRANDS PER COUNTRY

52% of Europeans always buy the same brand when they buy bottled water. 48%, however, just chooses whatever is available on location.

The findings presented in this report are based on the results of an investigative task submitted to
the Roamler Crowd during the month of June 2021. The purpose was to determine the crowd’s practices when it comes to drinking and purchasing bottled water. The findings take into account data collected from 4.622 respondents, located in Italy, France, Spain, the UK, Germany,
Belgium and the Netherlands.

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