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Consumers to buy cheaper brands, shop less online in 2025

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Online shopping
Attest’s survey reveals that consumer sentiment is shifting from e-commerce to a more omnichannel approach.

American consumers are feeling optimistic about 2025, but that doesn’t mean they plan on spending freely.

The majority (69%)  of Americans feel “positive” about what 2025 may bring, according to the fifth-annual U.S. Consumer Trends report from consumer research platform Attest. Despite this, more than half (54%) of consumers say they will be spending cautiously. When it comes to financial security, 39% feel insecure, while 37% feel the opposite.

Nearly three-quarters of Americans (74%) say they are more likely to buy a cheaper brand, instead of their favorite brand, in order to save money in the new year. And when it comes to what people want to see from brands, things have shifted. Consumer desire for funny brand messaging has fallen five percentage points (to 51%) , while interest in educational messaging has increased by nine percentage points (to 42%). Motivational messaging remains popular, at 49%.  

[READ MORE: Survey: With recession fears, consumers focused on price in 2025]

Attest’s survey reveals that consumer sentiment is shifting from e-commerce to a more omnichannel approach. The number of consumers who say they shop “mostly” or “always” online declined markedly by 13 percentage points (to 26%) compared to last year (39%). The rebound in in-store shopping is being led by Gen Z, following a 15 percentage point decline in habitual online shopping among this demographic.

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Younger shoppers are also less likely to shop on social media than they were a year ago (down from 18.5% to 12.5%). However, Gen Z is the demographic most likely to use an AI search engine, as 36.5% use one at least half the time they do a search (compared to 16% of consumers in general). Consumers with an income over $100k also over-index for using AI for search, as 30% use it “most” or "all” of the time.

Additional insights from the Attest survey include:

  • Consumers are willing to pay for environmentally-friendly products, despite the majority of consumers clearly keeping their spending under control. Last year, 44% of consumers wouldn’t pay anything extra for a green product, but that figure has decreased to 40%. Gen Z are the most likely to pay a premium (73% say they’d pay more), while boomers are the least likely (50%).
  • Almost half (49%) of consumers agree the economy is more important than the environment and this opinion is held by all demographics, and also bridges the gender divide as men and women are also in agreement on the issue.
  • While a sizable minority of consumers don’t want brands to delve into sensitive or political issues (28%), a majority do, with poverty and inequality (37%) being the top issue people want to hear from brands on. This is followed by racism and women’s rights (both at 26%). There has been a -6 percentage point decline in desire for brands to take a stance on gun violence (to 22%).
  • In particular, female consumers are looking for brands to weigh in on women’s rights (34%). Gen Z women (aged 18-26) feel especially strongly, with 59% wanting action from brands on women’s rights.

Attest’s data comes from a survey of 2,000 nationally representative working-age U.S. consumers conducted on the Attest platform in November 2024.

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