Consumers Are Trading Down: Qualitative Research Can Help You Step Up
Maybe you saw this recent story in Barron’s, which discusses the trend of more Americans “trading down” by cooking at home, choosing store brands, and opting for fast-casual instead of fine dining.
This shift is showing up across the consumer landscape — not just in grocery. In beauty, household products, dining, entertainment, and apparel, people are rethinking what’s worth paying for, what feels “good enough,” and where to draw the line between value and experience.
While what we eat offers a vivid example, the underlying dynamics extend far beyond food. These shifts in behavior reflect broader changes in how people evaluate value, make trade-offs, and express priorities. Any brand trying to stay relevant in this moment of evolving habits and expectations should be paying attention.
Recent studies underscore how widespread the recalibration has become:
McKinsey finds that 80 percent of U.S. consumers have adjusted their shopping behavior in response to economic pressures.
Numerator reports sustained growth in private-label market share across multiple categories.
Deloitte notes that even higher-income households are cutting back on discretionary purchases.
These figures confirm the trend, but they stop short of explaining why shoppers are making different choices or what those choices represent emotionally.
Questions to Ask Next
When analytics reports show a dip in premium-brand sales or a spike in value-tier adoption, they signal that something has changed, yet they do not reveal whether shoppers are seeking security, chasing novelty, stretching their budgets, or following social cues – motivations that could vary based on industry or category.
That is where qualitative research comes in. Methods such as mobile ethnographies and remote shop-alongs move beyond the numbers to uncover the stories, motivations, and subtle trade-offs behind each purchase. By observing how consumers navigate real-world decisions, teams can learn:
Which product attributes stay non-negotiable even in budget-tight times
Where shoppers are willing to compromise and why those compromises feel acceptable
How perceptions of “value” shift between channels, occasions, and even times of day
Insights like these help marketers refine positioning, adjust packaging cues, and shape innovation roadmaps that align with the new logic of value instead of pushing against it.
What You Can Do Now
If you’re noticing your customers pulling back or trading down, a focused qualitative sprint, such as a one-week mobile ethnography or a series of remote shop-alongs, can turn raw numbers into clear strategic direction. The sooner you can understand the feelings behind the figures, the sooner you can adapt messaging and experience for this value-first marketplace.
