Weekly Data

WHAT THE DATA SAY: 8 in 10 consumers care more about lower prices than politics

By: Ray Day

We wanted to share our latest consumer and business insights, based on research from Stagwell. Among the highlights of our weekly consumer sentiment tracking:

PRICING OVER POLITICS

Americans want businesses to work harder on pricing and less on politics to improve reputations, based the Axios Harris Poll 100 annual reputation study.

8 in 10 consumers say they care more about lower prices than politics.
Two thirds say they aren’t interested in supporting companies that have become too political.
No. 1 ranked Trader Joe’s, known for affordable specialty foods, registers an excellent reputation score of 82.1 (82.9 among Democrats and 81.1 among Republicans).
Arizona Beverage Co., known for its giant 99-cent cans of tea, also is among the top 10 in reputation among both political parties.
The most politically polarizing brands are near the bottom of the top 100 list (SpaceX at rank 86, Tesla at 95, X at 98 and the Trump Organization at 99).
LEARN MORE: If you and your company/team would like a briefing on this year’s corporate reputation results – including data on many companies that did not make the 100 most visible list – please contact us.
See also: Companies that kept DEI commitments saw higher reputation scores in 2025

WHAT CONSUMERS WANT

Consumers expect affordable pricing, quality and innovation from brands today, based on our QuestDIY by the Harris Poll survey.

Affordable pricing (78%) and product quality (72%) are the most important decision factors when choosing a brand.
30% of consumers say innovation is an important factor when choosing a brand.
54% say it’s important for brands to consistently innovate.
Consumers expect the newest products from food and beverage brands (36%), followed by restaurants (32%), entertainment products (27%), clothing products (26%) and beauty products (25%).
61% would switch to a competitor that offers more innovative products.

TARIFF CONCERNS CONTINUE

Consumers continue to be skeptical of the impact of tariffs on their personal finances and the economy, according to our Harris Poll survey with Bloomberg.

56% say their finances would be better if Trump’s tariffs had not been implemented.
69% expect higher costs for everyday goods as a result of the tariffs.
49% expect the tariffs to be bad for the economy.
30% say the levies will be an economic boon.
Half say the economy is worse than in 2024 (66% of Democrats, 25% of Republicans).
3 in 5 report cutting back due to concerns about a recession, including eating out less (70%) and spending less on entertainment (57%).

SUMMER VACATION, AT HOME?

Summer travel sentiments are high, yet financial concerns and foreign policy shifts have affected Americans’ plans, according to our Harris Poll survey with The Points Guy.

77% of Americans plan to travel this year (consistent with 76% in February).
70% plan to travel domestically, and 28% plan to travel internationally.
32% plan to travel more than last year (yet down from 35% in February).
34% plan to spend more on travel this year.
Men (41%) are planning to spend more on travel this year than women (27%).
52% say the current economy has affected their travel plans this year.
14% have postponed or cancelled travel plans due to the current economy.
30% say changing U.S. foreign policy has affected their international travel plans this year.
See also: Preferred Hotels & Resorts Launches the Luxury Travel Report 2025

GEN Z VS. RETIREMENT

Retiring at age 65 seems like an unattainable goal for Gen Z, based on our Harris Poll survey with Nationwide.

44% of Gen Z investors (ages 18-28) feel behind in their retirement savings.
38% believe the retirement age of 65 is not relevant in today’s economic environment.
48% plan to work longer than age 65.
40% are worried about their ability to pay monthly bills over the next year.
While 77% are concerned about a financial recession in the next year, 40% do not have a strategy in place to protect their assets against market risk.
17% are spending more on leisure at this age because they might never be able to retire.
62% of financial advisors believe Gen Z is more financially literate than previous generations.

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