Brands Sticking With DEI See Gains With Both Democrats and Republicans
Key Takeaways
Democrats and Republicans have diverging views on corporate diversity and inclusivity, with Republicans less likely to pay attention to DEI commitments in their purchasing decisions.
Consumers are hearing more positive than negative news about brands that have stuck by DEI. In the last year, net buzz for brands sticking with DEI is up 3.2 points overall, and 5.2 points among Republicans.
Purchasing consideration for DEI stalwart brands has accelerated considerably, especially among high-income households.
For more on brands and DEI, download our new report, “The Brand Impact of Sticking with DEI.”
The recent politicization of corporate DEI efforts has put companies in a tough spot. Complying with President Donald Trump’s executive orders risks alienating some customers but drawing the ire of the administration comes with its own legal and public relations risks.
Morning Consult’s daily brand tracking data shows that consumers aren’t necessarily rewarding brands for sticking with DEI, but Republicans aren’t punishing brands for it either.
The following is an excerpt of our new report, “The Brand Impact of Sticking with DEI,” which examines the impact of maintaining DEI commitments on key metrics like brand buzz, purchasing consideration and reputation.
Democrats and Republicans have different perspectives on DEI
The politicization of DEI means Republicans and Democrats have increasingly diverging views on the subject. Until spring of 2024, Republicans slightly trailed Democrats in their belief that companies are becoming more diverse and inclusive. That changed as then-candidate Trump began targeting DEI programs, and companies began rolling back their initiatives. Democrats are now far less likely than Republicans to see companies as becoming more diverse and inclusive.
Fewer Democrats see companies becoming more diverse
Republicans are less likely than Democrats to say they pay attention to the DEI commitments of the companies they purchase from, a figure that dropped somewhat at the same time that perceptions of company diversity also shifted.
More Democrats than Republicans pay attention to DEI policies when making purchases
Similar shares of Republicans (60%) and Democrats (59%) say they’ve heard ”a lot” or “some” about brands promoting diversity and inclusion, so the diverging impressions are more a reflection of ideology than an information gap.
Brands sticking with DEI have a positive buzz trajectory
Consumers are hearing more positive than negative news about brands that have stuck to their DEI programs. In most cases, brands tracked by Morning Consult that have maintained their DEI commitments into mid-2025 have seen gains in their net buzz metric. In aggregate, the net buzz metric is up 3.2 points from last June 2024.
These brands represent a diverse array of industries, all of which are subject to sector-specific or individual issues or wins that can influence an individual brand’s trend lines. The overall trend indicates that sticking with DEI isn’t harming their public perception.
Both Democrats and Republicans have an increasingly positive perception of DEI brand news
Counterintuitively, both Democrats and Republicans have similar perceptions about the news they see relating to DEI stalwart brands. Those that have stuck to their initiatives are seeing increasingly positive buzz ratings not just from Democrats as expected, but Republicans as well. Both positive and negative buzz numbers have grown among Republicans, but the positive buzz far outweighs the negative. This doesn’t mean that Republicans are specifically reacting to news about these brands’ DEI initiatives, just that the overall impression of what consumers are seeing about these brands is positive. In the same time period, Morning Consult observed a strong boost in consumer confidence among Republican respondents, which contributes to overall positive momentum in brand sentiment.
Purchasing consideration is also on the upswing
It’s not just a PR boon. Purchasing consideration for the DEI stalwart brands included in this analysis has also trended upward, particularly since late 2024. This is particularly compelling in a period when consumers are pulling back from some spending given ongoing inflationary strain.
Purchasing consideration has surged among Republicans, with large gains from October to November 2024 when President Trump secured reelection. Similar to the brand buzz metric, we can attribute this gain to the strong momentum in consumer confidence that is lifting brand sentiment across the board among Republicans. With that in mind, it’s fair to say that Republican consumers aren’t paying close attention to brands’ individual DEI policies, not that they’re specifically rewarding these brands for keeping their DEI commitments.
Sticking with DEI isn’t dissuading Republican consumers
While Democrats saw a corresponding decline in consumer sentiment at the time of the election, we don’t see a corresponding drop in purchasing consideration. Nor do we observe a strong boost in consideration despite these brands adhering to Democratic values amid a challenging political environment. Maintaining ground when many shoppers are more budget-conscious than ever is a win in itself.
