For years, marketers were taught that consumers buy on emotion and justify with logic. In today’s economy, brands need to understand another emotion: Resentment. Consumers aren’t merely noticing higher prices. Many believe companies raised prices aggressively during inflation and then failed to give those increases back when some cost pressures moderated. Whether that perception is completely economically justified almost doesn’t matter.

Perception drives behavior.

And the data suggests consumers are increasingly willing to punish brands they believe no longer provide sufficient value. EY’s Future Consumer Index found that 73% of U.S. consumers changed their buying behavior after experiencing price increases, while 50% said price was now the most important factor in purchasing decisions. Even more threatening to established brands, 65% said they would switch brands for a better price. That creates a very different marketing environment.

The challenge is no longer simply:

“How do we convince consumers our product is worth the price?”

It is:

“How do we convince consumers we’re not taking advantage of them?”

Those are two very different marketing problems.

The Brand Loyalty Safety Net Is Disappearing

One of the biggest mistakes marketers can make right now is assuming decades of brand equity will protect them. It won’t necessarily.

EY found that 71% of consumers will select another brand when their preferred brand isn’t available, 65% will switch for a better price, and 59% are generally open to trying new brands.

Research from Simon-Kucher points in the same direction: 54% of consumers reported increasing their purchases of private-label products, and price now outweighs brand for roughly two-thirds of shoppers.

And the threat is becoming even more fundamental. Recent NIQ research reports that 58% of consumers don’t particularly care whether a product is a national brand or private label—they buy what best meets their needs. Sixty-nine percent believe private label offers good value for the money.

Think about what that means. For decades, consumer marketing focused on creating enough brand differentiation to justify a premium. Today, consumers increasingly ask: “Why am I paying extra for your logo?” If marketers can’t provide a convincing answer, consumers have alternatives sitting inches away on the shelf.

Price Is Important. But “Value” Is Bigger Than Price.

Marketers have some good news. Consumers don’t automatically demand the lowest possible price.

Deloitte analyzed more than 900,000 consumer data points across 290 brands, along with millions of credit-card transactions, and found that approximately 40% of American consumers could be classified as value seekers.

But Deloitte also found something extremely important:

Between 10% and 40% of consumers’ perception of value comes from factors other than price.

Brands perceived as delivering greater value also generated higher purchase intent and increased consumer share over time. That’s the opportunity. Marketers shouldn’t automatically respond to consumer anger with endless coupons.

They need to increase the perceived return on every consumer dollar.

That requires changing the marketing playbook.

1ne. Stop Pretending Consumers Haven’t Noticed

The worst thing a brand can do when customers are angry about prices is behave as though nothing happened. Consumers know what products used to cost. They notice when packages get smaller. They notice when promotions disappear. They notice when loyalty-program benefits become less generous.

And they increasingly notice when companies report strong earnings while simultaneously telling customers that price increases are unavoidable. Trying to market around those realities creates distrust.

Instead, acknowledge the economic environment. Messaging such as: “We know every dollar matters right now.” can be much more effective than: “Introducing our exciting new package design!”

One recognizes the customer’s reality. The other risks sounding tone-deaf.

2wo. Don’t Sell Price. Sell the Math.

Math. Math is one of the most underutilized tools in marketing today. Rather than proclaiming: “Great value!” Show them. If a product costs $12 and gives you 30 uses, tell your customers: You are paying 40 cents per use. If your laundry detergent is more concentrated and thus uses 30% less per load, say so. If your item lasts twice as long as the inferior (cheaper) product across the street, show them. They are doing these calculations as we speak. Make it easy for them. Your sales pitch becomes: “Here is what you really get for your money.” That is infinitely more believable than claiming something is a “great value.”

3hree. Give Consumers Permission to Buy

Gartner found that 70% of U.S. consumers surveyed were making significant changes to everyday spending, including trading down to cheaper brands, cooking at home more often, and purchasing smaller package sizes.

When consumers experience financial uncertainty, remember this psychological point. Even if people can afford your product, they may feel guilty about buying it. Marketers have to provide what Gartner calls a “permission structure” that gives people ok to buy. Instead of saying: “You deserve the best.” Say: “Spend a little more today. Replace it half as often.” Instead of: “Premium ingredients.” Say: “One bottle makes 40 meals.” In other words, justify the purchase while maintaining the emotional connection.

4our. Stop Training Customers to Wait for a Sale

One last risk. Discounting can be addicting…to your company. According to research by Bizrate Insights, half of shoppers will wait to make a purchase until there’s a sale or promotion. 40% will buy cheaper brands, and 43% will cut spending on nonessentials. Once you train your customers that your $100 product is always $70 every six weeks, you’ve trained them to think your product is only worth $70. Promotion has to be smarter. Reward loyalty. Bundle. Do subscriptions. Upsize with better unit economics. Entry-level product. Targeted incentives for price-sensitive customers. Just don’t make your MSRP meaningless.

5ive. Create a “Good-Better-Best” Architecture

Smart marketers know that one of the best ways to combat price sensitivity isn’t always lowering the price of your flagship product. Sometimes it’s better to give people control. Offer three tiers: GOOD — Entry-level basic benefits with limited features or size. BETTER — Standard: The brand’s typical offering with the optimal balance of price/reward. BEST — Premium: High-end features, ingredients, convenience or experience. Not only do you empower your customer, but you also change the decision they are forced to make. Instead of deciding between your brand and leaving it, they now get to decide: which version of your brand fits my budget? Retaining a customer inside your brand franchise can be huge when times get better.

6. Make Price Transparency Part of the Brand

Consumers hate pricing games. Secret fees. Introductory prices that quickly go up. Coupons and loyalty discounts that make you wish you paid full price. Prices that change based on your shopping behavior. Small packages to avoid the price threshold. Surprise taxes and surcharges. If it pumps up short-term profits at the cost of consumer trust, regulators will eventually come after it. The FTC has already started cracking down on certain pricing practices.

In August 2026, the FTC proposed a rule requiring retailers to disclose when they use customer data to personalize prices. Ahead of the curve, smart marketers will avoid these tactics altogether. Think of the marketing gimmicks: “We charge the same price for every customer.” “No hidden fees.” “We guarantee our price for 12 months.” “No screwing around. The price you see is the price you pay.” Price transparency is a competitive advantage.

7even. Demonstrate Why the Brand Premium Exists

Brand marketers should try this experiment. Place their product next to the leading private-label competitor. Now cover up the logos. Ask yourself: Why should someone pay 20%, 30% or 50% more for ours? If the marketing team can’t explain that in a sentence, the customer probably can’t either. Answers may include: Higher quality ingredients. Greater durability. Improved taste. Better customer service. Longer warranty. Advanced technology. More reliable. More convenient. But simply saying, “We’re the leading brand,” doesn’t cut it anymore. In fact, according to EY, 55% of consumers who buy private-label products end up switching back to branded goods, with almost half saying the branded products were simply higher quality, tasted better, or performed better. That’s a massive opportunity for marketers. Stop telling customers you’re better. Show them where the extra dollars go.

8ight. Market Savings, Not Just Products

Marketers should think like consumers… except act like their CFO.
Help them balance their household finances. Create content that teaches:
How to stretch the product further.
How to minimize waste.
How to lower their cost per use.
How to buy the right size package.
When buying in bulk can actually save you money.
Sounds backward, doesn’t it? Wouldn’t that cause customers to buy less of your product?
Maybe. But short-term sales are worthless if you’re communicating something far more valuable:
“We care about your budget and are trying to help you stretch your dollar.”
That’s how you begin to restore trust.

9ine. Stop Confusing Loyalty Programs With Loyalty

Points aren’t loyalty. Apps aren’t loyalty. Coupons aren’t loyalty. They’re vehicles. Loyalty is when customers feel that giving up your brand would be a sacrifice of some sort. Perhaps they’d sacrifice quality. Convenience. Dependability. Taste. Performance. Service. Even just the belief that the product would work as expected. Understanding this difference matters because loyalty isn’t what it used to be. According to EMARKETER, 63.6% of survey participants think consumers are less brand loyal today than they were five years ago, and price sensitivity/Discounting are among the top reasons why. So forget trying to figure out “How do we get customers to use our loyalty program more?” Instead, focus on figuring out “What would customers miss if our brand went away tomorrow?” That’s a lot harder, but it’s also the real question.

The New Marketing Equation

For much of the last decade, the marketing equation looked something like this: Brand + Convenience + Emotional Connection = Purchase. The emerging equation is different:

Trust + Demonstrable Value + Fair Price + Quality = Purchase

Price remains important. But fairness may be even more important. Consumers don’t necessarily resent companies making money. They resent feeling exploited. That distinction should influence everything from pricing architecture to packaging, promotion, advertising, and CRM.

Consumers are not suddenly cheap. They’ve become skeptical. They’re wondering if brands really deserve their premium. They’re checking unit prices. They’re trying store brands. They’re waiting for sales. They’re trading down. And they’re starting to wonder – do the companies selling to me get that my pocketbook is being stretched? Winning brands won’t be the ones that slash prices the most. They’ll be the ones that can confidently answer a single question: “Why should I spend my money on this?” Make that answer impossible to ignore. Because when consumers think everything is overpriced, value isn’t just another pricing tactic. Value is the brand.