Survey: Consumers to prioritize lowest prices in coming months
Amid price uncertainty as a result of new tariffs, brand loyalty may soon take a hit as consumers look to find the cheapest products.
More than half (55%) of consumers say they plan to prioritize products with the lowest prices when shopping in the coming months, according to a survey of consumers and retailers by cash back shopping platform Rakuten.
Nearly four-in-10 (39%) consumers cite inflation as having the most impact on their 2025 shopping plans. More than three-quarters (77%) of those surveyed believe prices will continue to increase throughout the year, leading roughly two-fifths (41%) to say they plan to shop less than in previous years.
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Nearly six-in-10 (57%) consumers say that rising grocery prices have caused them to cut back on non-essential shopping. Shoppers are split on how to address rising grocery prices: 41% are spending more at the grocery store to purchase from the same brands they're accustomed to, while 39% are shifting to cheaper alternatives. A smaller segment (13%) said they are completely abstaining from buying products affected by price hikes, like eggs.
"Consumers are looking for value, but the cost of doing business is increasing for retailers," says Julie Van Ullen, chief revenue officer at Rakuten Rewards. "Retailers are in a very difficult position. They cannot assume that shopper loyalty will remain intact if they choose to pass the added costs onto the consumer by raising prices, but they also cannot afford to offer discounts. Instead, retailers will need to leverage other incentives like Cash Back that allow retailers to attract value-seeking shoppers without adjusting prices at all."
According to the survey, only 5% of retailers think shoppers will choose to trade down to lower quality products and less expensive brands than the ones they're accustomed to. A third (33%) believe that shoppers will look for ways to save and stack incentives to continue purchasing their preferred brands. An additional 32% believe that shoppers will shift their purchasing to discount retailers that feature their favorite brands.
Despite consumers planning to cut back on spending, 73% of retailers remain optimistic that they will meet their company's sales objectives for the first half of 2025. This optimism is backed by an increase in spend with two thirds (67%) saying their marketing budgets increased over last year.
"For retailers to meet their sales objectives, they will need to earn a significant share of an increasingly limited consumer spend," said Van Ullen. "As shopper wallets tighten and marketer budgets increase, it's time for retailers to get aggressive with their promotional strategies."
Rakuten’s surveys were conducted online by The Harris Poll. The retailer survey was conducted from March 10-17, 2025 among 101 retailer marketers in the United States. The consumer survey was conducted from March 6-10, 2025 among 2,058 U.S. adults aged 18 and older.
