According to EY’s March 2025 Future Consumer Index, based on 20,000+ consumers across 26 countries, brand recognition alone no longer cuts it.
🚨 The loyalty lag
In a climate of shrinking wallets and endless choices, loyalty has become a luxury:
→ 88% say brand messaging doesn’t reflect their needs or values
→ 36% no longer factor brands into their purchase decisions
→ 54% only buy branded products if they’re discounted
→ 67% say private labels meet their needs just as well
→ 36% of those who’ve switched to private labels don’t plan to go back
⚡ Relevance > recognition
Consumers aren’t abandoning brands, they’re reprioritizing. What matters now is relevance, reliability and real value:
→ 48% would return if quality, taste or performance improves
→ 42% are skeptical of innovations that feel like shortcuts
→ 68% expect brands to take meaningful action on sustainability
🔍 What now?
This isn’t a loyalty collapse — it’s a relevance reset. To stay in the game, brands must shift from storytelling to signaling clarity. Prove your worth through visible quality, transparent pricing and sustainability with substance. Don’t just say your brand is better – prove it, consistently and clearly. In a market shaped by abundance and anxiety, the brands that solve real problems, deliver real value and stay in sync with shifting expectations are the ones consumers will return to.
