How many consumers prioritize brand values when picking a telco?

In an age when some shoppers are keen to understand where companies stand on certain social and political issues, a quarter of global consumers say they prioritize a brand’s values over a product’s price when shopping with telco companies.

While a majority of global consumers still prioritize the price of the product or service when considering a purchase from a telecom brand, 24% say the brand’s values are a priority. YouGov presented eight sectors to respondents in 17 global markets and found consumers are less likely to consider the ethics of a brand when shopping for phones or internet service compared to other purchases, such as vehicles (34%), banks (34%) and consumer electronics (33%).

Drilling down into market-level data, we see that consumers in the UAE (36%), urban India (35%) and urban Mexico (34%) are most likely to put a brand’s values ahead of product price when considering telco companies. Those in the United Kingdom (14%), Denmark (15%), Sweden (18%) and America (20%) are least likely to do so.

Broadly speaking, there is an expectation among younger consumers that businesses align themselves with particular political or social causes – issues relating to gender, the environment or race, for example. But when it comes to telecom purchases, older global consumers are about as likely as younger ones to seriously consider a brand’s values. Consumers 18-24 are, however, more likely to be on the fence when it comes to choosing between prioritizing values and product cost.

Separate YouGov Profiles data indicates consumers in both the US and UK are most comfortable with brands speaking about human rights, environmental issues and animal cruelty in their communications. Potential third rails for US consumers are religion, political party support and capital punishment. In the UK, brands should avoid speaking about regional autonomy, the Monarchy and political party support.

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Methodology: The data is based on the interviews of adults aged 18 and over in 17 markets with sample sizes varying between 509 and 2,124 for each market. All interviews were conducted online in August 2021. Data from each market uses a nationally representative sample apart from Mexico and India, which use urban representative samples, and Indonesia and Hong Kong, which use online representative samples.