Brands
Losing Loyalty: Why Consumers Are Walking Away From Brands
Report summary
Increasing cost of living is driving consumers away from their favorite brands. Inflation-weary consumers are fed up and making big changes to accommodate their budgets. For brands, that unfortunately means losing formerly loyal customers. We set out to understand how customer loyalty is shifting and heard one thing loud and clear: everything is too expensive.
Based on a survey of 2,224 U.S. consumers, this report reveals the main factors causing shoppers to shop from specific brands less often or not at all.
Key Takeaways
- Cost increases are driving customers away: Increasing costs – particularly for food purchases – are putting pressure on consumers and forcing them to cut back. The categories where shoppers reported having to spend more are the same categories where they’re switching up the brands they shop from.
- High earners are somewhat exempt: High income households are experiencing the same inflation as everyone else, but they’re better able to absorb it. They’re 10 percentage points less likely than others to be changing up the groceries they buy as a result of higher prices.
- Shoppers are happy with their new brands: While it might take a few attempts to find an adequate replacement, most shoppers report that they’re spending less after switching brands, and at the same time they’re pretty satisfied with their new choice. This is a win for the value-oriented brands that have won new customers in the last few years.
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Methodology
The research featured in this report comes from a survey conducted Apr. 29 - May 1, 2025 among 2,224 respondents.
All survey interviews were conducted online, and the data was weighted to approximate populations of adults based on age, gender, race, educational attainment, region, gender by age and race by educational attainment. Top-line results from the surveys have a margin of error of +/-2 percentage points
The audience data in this report comes from Morning Consult Intelligence. The platform helps you understand your audience, brand, competitors and market in a way traditional helps you understand your brand, competitors and market in a way traditional research companies can’t.
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