Value, Revisited: Brand Relationships Under Pressure

The cost-of-living crisis may have slipped out of the headlines, but for customers — and for your employees — it is far from over.

Eighteen months on from the launch of Value, what we’re seeing is not recovery, but endurance. What began as an acute shock has settled into a prolonged period of financial pressure and emotional strain. People are still making hard choices every day about where to spend, what to cut back on, and which brands still earn a place in their lives.

This isn’t abstract. It’s likely showing up in your business right now. Perhaps premium ranges aren’t moving as they once did. Maybe purchase frequency is softening, brand loyalty feels more fragile, or shoppers are trading down, delaying, or opting out altogether. These shifts in behaviour are subtle but persistent — and they signal deeper changes in expectations, trust, and perceived value.

The same pressures are affecting the people inside your organisation too, shaping how teams think, work, and empathise with customers. The gap between what brands assume has “returned to normal” and what people are actually living through continues to widen.

Our refresh, eighteen months on, confirms a simple but critical truth: the cost-of-living crisis didn’t end — it evolved. And for brand leaders, this moment demands not just monitoring change, but truly understanding it, so decisions about pricing, portfolios, propositions, and purpose are grounded in the realities customers are still navigating today.

Join fellow insight leaders for a 90-minute virtual Peer Connection session exploring what’s changed, what’s stayed the same, and what it means for how brands show up today.

Led by Neha Mittal, Value lead, and Christina Detsch, Senior Insights Consultant, this interactive session will unpack the latest learnings from the refreshed Value report and bring the work to life through discussion and hands-on collaboration.

Together, we’ll explore:

• What our updated data reveals about shifting consumer expectations 18 months on
• Where brands are still getting it right – and where cracks are beginning to show
• How the five Value relationship role models show up in today’s context
• What these role models mean for your brand, through a practical digital workshop exercise

This intimate, small-group session is designed for insight, strategy, and brand leaders who want to sense-check their thinking, learn from peers across industries, and translate big ideas into more human, resilient brand relationships.

We hope you’ll join us for a thoughtful, practical, and energising conversation about creating value when it matters most.