The UK's leading Out of Home media and infrastructure company, Clear Channel UK, released a new study focusing on diversity in advertising and inclusive shopping experiences. The study of 2,000 respondents conducted via OnePoll revealed that Gen Z is more inclusive than older generations, especially when it comes to race and disability representation in media.

According to the research, Gen Z considers the following groups greatly underrepresented in advertising: race and ethnicity (42%), people with disabilities (40%), plus size models (36%), older age groups (30%), neurodiverse (30%) and LGBTQI+ (27%).

In comparison, only one in four (24%) of all Brits think that race, disability (31%), plus size models (28%), older generations (35%) and LGBTQI+ (16%) are underrepresented in the media. Despite an estimated 15-20% of the population being neurodiverse, as well as rising awareness of the subject, only one in five (20%) Brits think that neurodiverse people need more representation.

Women also seem to be more in favour of diversity than men. For example, 41% of women would like to see older ages represented more in advertising compared to just 29% of men. On average, roughly 10-15% more women than men expressed interest in seeing disabilities, plus-sized models and neurodiversity in advertising. People who identify as non-binary came out as the most inclusive when it comes to older ages, plus size models, race and ethnicity and neurodiversity with 50% of respondents preferring to see them being represented.

The study revealed that authenticity/tokenism (26%), lack of normalisation (25%), offensive stereotypes (25%), poor representations of the culture (22%) and failure to acknowledge cultural differences (19%) are the common issues people find in inclusive advertising.

The study also revealed simple steps for how marketers can make advertising more inclusive and accessible, in this case sensory-friendly: simple messaging (38%), clearer layouts (36%), sensory optimisations e.g. reducing sounds/brightness (34%), using clearer fonts (29%), choice of formats e.g. text, audio, video (18%) and using muted colour schemes (16%).

Key findings from the survey:

• Only 48% of Brits are aware of sensory-friendly shopping hours.

• Younger generations are more aware of sensory-friendly shopping hours than older generations - with 18-24 (59%) and 25-34 (53%) at the top of awareness funnel.

• Gendered awareness of sensory-friendly hours: non-binary (83%), women (53%), men (51%).

• Only 38% of neurodivergent people are aware of sensory-friendly shopping hours.

• Overcrowding (61%), loud music (46%), bright lights (22%), in-store announcements (12%) and bright colours (11%) are the biggest sources of discomfort for shoppers.

• People aged 45-54 are the most likely to leave a store because of overcrowding (68%), followed by 25-34-year-olds (64%).

• 18-24 (31%) and 25-34 (30%) are more likely to leave the store because of the bright lights than any other age groups.

• 65 and older (50%) are more likely to leave the store because of the loud music.

• Neurodivergent (49%) people are more likely to leave the store because of loud music than neurotypical people (45%).

• Half of neurodivergent people (50%) would leave the store because of loud music, 37% because of bright lights and 1 in 3 (36%) because of in-store announcements.

• Only one in five (21%) Brits are satisfied with their in-store shopping experiences.

• British customers claim the following adjustments would make the stores more accessible and improve their shopping experience: turning down music (50%), limiting foot traffic (31%), priority queuing (25%), dimming lights (24%), quieter till scan sounds (18%), no overhead announcements (15%).

• Nine in ten Gen Z think the stores need to prioritise sensory adjustments to make them more accessible.

• Turning down loud music in stores is the preferred sensory adjustment for people aged 25 and over.

• The most desired sensory adjustment for 18-24s is limiting foot traffic in stores (39%).

Ben Hope, Marketing Director at Clear Channel UK, said: ‘’We strongly believe in creating inclusive environments where everyone feels valued and respected, regardless of their differences, and OOH advertising is one of the best ways to achieve that."

"As a company, we are committed to making a positive change through our Inclusive Channel and encouraging brands to embrace diversity and normalise inclusive advertising planning. Such an approach would not just help embrace inclusive messaging, but also unlock untapped potential when it comes to reaching new audiences’’.