Australia’s #1 yogurt brand[i], Chobani, has commissioned the first Actual Wear Survey to find out how Australians actually wear their active wear. As COVID-19 has profoundly impacted the way Aussies live, work and exercise, Chobani sought to understand the active wear habits of Australians over the last 12 months. Commissioning OmniPoll to conduct a national survey, they asked Aussies to tell us how they wear their active wear, how often they wear it, where they wear it and whether they actually exercise when wearing it!

The survey comes off the back of the biggest on pack promotion the dairy aisle has ever seen, offering shoppers the chance to instantly win 1 of 25,000 pieces of Chobani active wear.

Conducted online among a national sample of 1,237 people aged 18 to 59, the survey by OmniPoll found that:

• 82% of Australians under 60 wear active wear either for exercise, at home or as casual wear
• 78% of people reported that they had worn active wear as casual wear when they were out and about
• Around 40% of people reported wearing active wear most days, if not every day
• Since COVID hit, 38% of respondents report wearing active wear more often than previously
• Australians wear their active wear around the house more often than wearing it for exercise or being out and about

Lyn Radford, Managing Director, Chobani Australia said, “Throughout COVID-19, we noticed a shift in purchasing habits as people working and exercising from home was changing the way consumers bought our products. As we began to develop Chobani active wear for our biggest on pack promotion, we became interested in how COVID had also changed the way Aussies wear their active wear, leading to the first ever Actual Wear Survey.”

Breaking down the results, the frequency of active wear usage is of note as around 30% of people wear active wear at home every day or most days, compared with 20% wearing it for exercise and 14% when they’re out and about.

Looking more specifically at occasions when active wear is worn as casual wear, shopping was the most common with 60% of respondents reporting that they have worn active wear while shopping in the last 12 months.

Along with shopping, many adults have also opted for active wear while grabbing a bite to eat or pulling up to the school gates.  Around 30% of respondents say they had worn active wear to a café or restaurant in the last 12 months and almost 2/3 of parents (64%) who do the school run reported wearing active wear while picking up or dropping off their kids at school.

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For adults under 40, choosing active wear over jeans and a t-shirt is a decision somewhat guided by aesthetics, with 64% of people under 40 saying one of the reasons they wear active wear when out and about is because ‘I think I look pretty attractive in it’. For women, convenience is also a factor, as nearly half the women surveyed (48%) cited ‘it’s easier to decide what to wear’ as a major reason, compared with 37% of men.

Also, opting for active wear over casual clothes can trigger a desire to eat clean, as around 30% of people reported they are more inclined to eat healthier foods when wearing active wear.

“It was interesting to know that around 30% of people who wear active wear are more likely to eat healthier when wearing it. Chobani yogurt and active wear make the perfect pair!”

The survey shed light on the factors that are most important to men and women when it comes to buying active wear, with 98% of respondents saying comfort was an important factor. Looking good was also highly important among women, with 75% of women under 40 stating looking good in their active wear is an extremely or very important factor when deciding what to buy. Interestingly, around 45% of men believe active wear makes women look more attractive when worn as casual wear.

In the context of the COVID environment over the last 12 months, it is unsurprising that people living in NSW/ACT and VIC (85%) are more likely to wear active wear in comparison to other states (77%).

• 66% of people in NSW/ACT wore their active wear to go shopping in the last 12 months
• 44% of people in Victoria have been wearing active wear more often since COVID – higher than the rest of the country
• People in Queensland were less likely than other Australians to say that fashionable style is an important factor when buying active wear

Comedian and Actual Wear Survey ambassador Nikki Osborne said, “I was reassured but not surprised that there was a spike in lazy active-wearers when COVID hit. I’ve actually developed an aversion to non-stretch pants – I don’t need that sort of negativity in my life.”

Launching in Australia in 2012, Chobani has since become the country’s #1 yogurt brand. In the last 12 months, close to one in every two households has tried Chobani! Currently running their biggest on-pack promotion ever, Chobani is offering shoppers the chance to instantly win 1 of 25,000 pieces of Chobani activewear.

A copy of the Actual Wear Survey results is available upon request.

For further information about Chobani Australia, please visit www.chobani.com.au

[i] Source: Nielsen Grocery Scan, MAT data to 27/12/2020

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