The second survey of the Vegan Research Panel took place during November 2000. 1268 panel members were sent an email inviting them to complete an online survey comprising 12 questions. 64% of the panel completed the survey within an 18 day period.
All I want for Christmas
When buying presents, 45% of vegan panel members always buy vegan products
for others. However in terms of receiving presents, 9 out of 10 are bought
non-vegan presents by people who know about their diet/ethics. 27% of
vegans (40% in the USA) find Christmas a particularly difficult time due
to their diet.
Straight in at No. 1
Of the vegan products and services which panel members had previously
said they would most like to see introduced next year, almost half (47%)
of vegans ranked better labelling on products as being most important,
while 20% want more and cheaper shoes.
Shopping online
Vegan panel members are more likely to buy online than the rest of the
population - 75% had bought online in the past six months (1).
Of those vegans who had never purchased online six months ago, 41% had
now made an internet purchase.
1. Of the whole panel, 77% in the UK and 83% in the USA had bought online in the last 6 months. This compares with estimates of 33% (MORI/Motorola poll 05/06/00) and 46% (MORI/Which? Online poll 11/07/00) in the UK and 47% (Scarborough Research 01/12/00) and 55% (Deloitte & Touche 07/11/00) in the USA.
Christmas shoppers
Half of vegan internet users (two-thirds in the US) intend buying Christmas
presents online this year, with regular users most likely to buy (2),
(3). Of those vegans intending to buy, 94% had bought online in
the past six months. However, just 13% of those who had not made an online
purchase in the last six months intend to buy a Christmas present online.
2. 60% of vegans who use the internet several times
a day intend buying Christmas presents online, compared to 40% who log
on less than once a day.
3. In the UK last year around a quarter of regular internet users shopped
online in the 4 weeks before Christmas (NOP Internet User Profile, 15/02/00).
In the USA this year, 42% of internet users intend shopping online at
Christmas (Deloitte & Touche 07/11/00).
World Vegan Day
The survey took place just after World Vegan Day (1st November). Almost
two thirds of vegans in the UK were aware of World Vegan Day, compared with
16% in the USA. Of the non-vegan panel members, one in five were aware of
the day.
All I want for Christmas
When asked 'What is the best vegan present anyone could give you'
the top answer mentioned by 21% of respondents was animal-free footwear
(and nobody mentioned slippers!)
The figures below are based on the total panel responses (813) unless otherwise stated.
| Yes | 30% |
| No | 70% |
| Yes | 29% |
| No | 71% |
| Yes | 54% |
| No | 46% |
| Never | 2% |
| Hardly ever | 4% |
| Sometimes | 30% |
| Often | 30% |
| Always | 34% |
| Never | 11% |
| Hardly ever | 33% |
| Sometimes | 36% |
| Often | 17% |
| Always | 4% |
| More guides and listings | 9% |
| More and cheaper shoes | 21% |
| More shops | 9% |
| More clothes | 3% |
| More convenience foods | 12% |
| Better labelling on products | 45% |
| Yes | 38% |
| No | 62% |
| Several times a day | 48% |
| Once a day | 22% |
| Several times a week | 22% |
| Once a week | 4% |
| Several times a month | 3% |
| Once a month | 0% |
| Less than once a month | 0% |
| Home | 62% |
| Work | 28% |
| Other | 9% |
| Yes | 75% |
| No | 25% |
| Yes | 52% |
| No | 48% |
| 1. Footwear (21%), shoes, boots, trainers, football boots, hiking boots, high heels and knee-length boots. |
| 2. Books (11%), with around half mentioning recipe/cookery books. |
| 3. Chocolate (10%), luxury boxes and plenty of them! |
| 4. Clothes (10%), smart non-woollen suits, warm winter coats, fake leather jackets and belts. |
| 5. Turn vegan (7%), the present giver becomes vegan themselves. |
| 6. Donation (5%), to a vegan or animal charity, or the adoption/sponsorship of a sanctuary/wild animal. |
| 7. Hamper (5%), stuffed full of vegan food and drink. |
| 8. Vouchers or cash (5%), for on or off-line vegan shopping. |
| 9. Toiletries (4%), including cosmetics, beauty products, perfume and aftershave. |
| 10. Meal (4%), a vegan Christmas dinner, cooked by someone else or at a restaurant. |
| This was an open-ended question. Other areas consistently mentioned included world veganism, animal liberation, anything given with love, digital cameras, holidays, cakes/desserts and alcohol. These figures are based on the responses of the 690 panel members who answered this question. |
"...a jumbo sized box of assorted vegan chocolates all for myself (and global veganism, of course!)"
"...a pair of really fabulous knee high vegan boots"
"...a vegan Christmas hamper with the finest belgian chocolates, sumptuous red wine, selection of [vegan] cheeses, chocolate biscuits, toffuti ice cream, savoury snacks..."
"...my family not eating meat for a week"
"...a vegan boyfriend! (Failing that, [vegan] cheese that melts when you cook it)"