Deloitte: Consumers Shift Spending to Brands That Offer More Value for the Price

Brands that offer only low prices could stand to lose out to competitors who offer more, as economic headwinds continue to influence consumer behavior

NEW YORK, June 24, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- 

Key takeaways

• Inflation levels from recent years affected consumer perceptions that brands offer fair prices and strong value. This dynamic continues influencing how consumers view a brand's pricing and value and can create a headwind for the industry.
• Value-seeking behavior has increased in prevalence: 4 in 10 American consumers surveyed are considered value-seekers.
• Value and price are linked. However, between 10% to 40% of consumer perceptions of a brand's value stem from factors other than price. Brands that provide extra value have higher purchase intent and are growing consumer share over time. 
• Value-seeking has the greatest effect on higher-income earners surveyed (those earning $200K or more). They plan to spend 50-60% less in many discretionary categories relative to their peers.

Why this matters
Consumer perceptions of good value and fair prices remain constrained by the lasting effects of recent inflationary shocks and ongoing economic headwinds. As a result, value-conscious behavior appears to be not only more widespread but also seemingly more deeply ingrained across demographics. Today's consumers consider their purchases, demanding more for their money. In this environment, companies across all sectors face a challenge to prove they can deliver meaningful value that resonates with consumers.

In its new report, "The Value-Seeking Consumer: Competitors Could Lose Out to Brands Offering More than Low Prices," Deloitte examines value-seeking from the consumer's perspective and finds that brands that provide "more value for the price " (a.k.a. MVPs) look to be winning with consumers.

More consumers look for value
Ongoing economic uncertainty can give rise to a more cautious consumer, leading to increased value seeking across all age groups and income levels. Deloitte defines value-seekers as consumers who exhibit three or more cost-conscious, deal-driven, or convenience-sacrificing behaviors per month across sectors, including automotive, grocery, leisure travel, restaurants and retail.

• Based on Deloitte's ConsumerSignals, four in 10 Americans surveyed were identified as value seekers. Of these consumers, almost two-thirds are cooking more meals at home (65%) and, over half are purchasing cheaper ingredients from the grocery store (53%) and switching to store brands/private labels (59%), which is about 10 times the rate of non-value-seekers, respectively. If they go to a restaurant, 40% choose one with a deal/promotion. About a quarter of value-seekers seek out budget lodging (29%) and airlines (24%) when they travel, and half (51%) wait for a deal before booking.  If they are buying a car at all, it is more than twice as likely to be previously owned compared to non-value-seekers (2.4 times)
• Deloitte's Value-seeking Behavior Index rose 10% since September 2024 to 110.8 in April 2025 (including a 5% increase from March to April alone), driven in part by consumers cooking more at home and limiting grocery delivery, among other shifts (per Deloitte's ConsumerSignals database). The Index subsequently dropped 6% in May, highlighting the current uncertainty surrounding consumers.
• Nearly half (49%) of Gen X and (43%) of Boomers engage in value-seeking behaviors, challenging a notion that financial pressures contribute to younger generations (millennials at 40% and Gen Z at 44%) seeking more value.
• While nearly 4 in 10 value-seeking consumers surveyed are from lower-income, middle-aged households that look for value out of necessity, higher-income earners are also searching for value — 23% of consumers earning $200K or more are value seekers. In addition, nearly 3 in 10 consumers surveyed who are value seekers are young families with six-figure median incomes.
• Among consumers surveyed, value-seekers intend to spend 40-50% less on discretionary categories such as personal care, household goods, home furnishings and entertainment, while allocating a greater percentage of their budget to essentials like housing and transportation.
• Though fewer in number, high-income value-seekers make the most dramatic cuts relative to their non-value-seeking peers. Households earning $200K or more generally spend 50-60% less in discretionary categories like clothing, restaurants, recreation, personal care, and household goods.

Key quote
"Consumers are more discerning than ever, weighing the value they receive with their purchases. And while low-income earners may look for value out of necessity, higher-income households increasingly put value at the top of their shopping lists. As economic uncertainty lingers, consumers across demographics actively seek brands that deliver value, whether through quality, trust, friendly attitudes, or a combination thereof. No matter the industry sector, MVP brands that get pricing right and boost consumer perceptions of their value will be well positioned to attract consumers, increase their margins, and build long-term loyalty."

—  Mike Daher, vice chair and U.S. consumer industry leader, Deloitte

Price isn't everything
Across multiple consumer sectors, inflationary spikes that peaked in 2022 coincided with a decline in how consumers view company pricing, and the value offered (down 61% and 30%, respectively, relative to January 2021 levels). Even as inflation has eased, perceptions persisted, posing an ongoing challenge for consumer brands to address.

• Consumers not only intend to spend with brands that offer more value for the price (MVPs), they vote for those brands with their wallets: Based on transactions from Converge™  by Deloitte's panel of 5 million credit cards over the last three years, the share shifted roughly 2% to purchasing at MVP brands across grocery, restaurants and hotels, with a more minor shift for apparel (0.6%). Using the average revenue of $64B for the top 10 US grocers based on "Deloitte Global's Global Powers of Retailing" 2025 report, this share shift could offer an opportunity for an additional $1.3 billion in revenue annually per company for grocers.
• "Bang for the buck": for consumers, value and price are entwined — a relationship that can now be quantified. Based on a regression analysis of 290 brands, price perceptions can predict 60-90% of value perceptions. But price isn't everything when it comes to value. Ten to 40% of perceived value comes from brands executing to provide something extra, including three things MVPs offer better than others: quality, attitude and trust.
• Quality is the top drivers of value for MVP brands within the grocery, hotel and restaurant sectors. For automotive, quality and reliability are tied. Among apparel retailers, delivery speed is paramount.

Key quote
"MVP brands deliver more than just competitive prices — they can provide added value that attracts consumers, even when their products cost more. MVPs focus on product and service quality and reliability. They may also be perceived as having more friendly attitudes that build consumer trust. Lower-value brands looking to make the shift to being an MVP can do so by emulating these attributes, in a way that aligns with their unique brand identity and business approach."

—  Mike Daher, vice chair and U.S. consumer industry leader, Deloitte

The report, "The Value-Seeking Consumer: Competitors Could Lose Out to Brands Offering More than Low Prices" is based on data from the Deloitte ConsumerSignals platform of 9,000 U.S. consumers surveyed from September 2024 through May 2025, as well as an analysis of HundredX™ survey data of over 900,000 consumer data points across 290 consumer brands, a Converge™ by Deloitte panel of approximately 5 million credit cards , and analysis of company earnings transcripts.

Connect with us on LinkedIn @MichaelDaher.

About Deloitte

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SOURCE Deloitte