April 6th, 2022, Janice Fernandes
Consumers are increasingly choosing to shop from brands that align with their personal values and beliefs. For example, in a recent YouGov survey, consumers in America and Great Britain agree that they are more likely to purchase from brands that have taken a stance on the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
A new YouGov analysis, across 18 markets, asks consumers which sectors have performed best at keeping up with their personal values and beliefs.
Food and beverages
Nearly one in five global consumers say food and beverage brands have been successful at keeping up with their personal values (18%) but the story varies from country to country. So, whereas around a third of consumers in India (35%), Mexico (30%) and Indonesia (35%) agree that brands track their values, consumers in Poland and America (9% each) are far less likely than the global audience to have the same opinion. In the rest of the western markets, at least one in ten consumers say that brands are effectively keeping up with their personal beliefs: Canada (19%), Germany (16%), Spain (16%), France (14%).
Tech
Consumers in most of the European markets are not as convinced as the global audience (15%) that tech companies are aligned with their personal beliefs. While Italy (22%) and Spain (16%) are slightly more likely than global consumers to agree, less than one in 20 British consumers (4%) say the same. North America seems similarly cynical, with 6% of Americans and around 10% of Canadians believing that tech companies are aligned with their values.
Clothing and cosmetics
Overall global consumers find clothing companies (15%) more likely to be successful at keeping up with their personal values compared to cosmetic companies (10%). This trend continues in all 18 markets studied in this survey. The UAE records over a quarter of consumers who believe clothing companies to be successful in this respect (28%) but shows a drop of nearly 13 percentage points when it comes to cosmetic companies (15%).
Media
Roughly one in ten global respondents (11%) say media companies are effectively aligning with their personal beliefs. Consumers in Italy and Spain are as likely as the global audience (11% each); however, the rest of the European markets register around one in 20 consumers who think likewise. France is least likely of all 18 markets analysed in this study to have consumers who think media companies align with their personal beliefs (2%), followed by Brits (4%).
Video games
Overall global consumers are less likely to pick video game companies as those who are successful at keeping up with their personal beliefs than any other sector. Less than one in ten global consumers (8%) think of video game businesses aligning with their personal beliefs. China and Indonesia take the top spot with around two in ten consumers saying they think gaming companies have been effectively upholding their personal beliefs (20% and 19% respectively). Britons and Danes are least likely of all 18 markets to say the same (3% each), followed by Sweden (4%).
Airline and travel
The global audience reveals a slight difference in opinion between airline and travel companies (9% and 11% respectively). However, less than one in ten Australian and Polish consumers (9% each) are likely to find both airlines and travel companies aligning with their beliefs. Nearly a third of consumers in the UAE say airline companies are successful but that percentage drops to two in ten consumers with regards to travel companies like booking portals (29% vs. 20%). Spaniards are however more likely to say travel companies are successful (15%) when compared to airlines (6%). The data indicates that airline companies need to improve consumer perception especially in Britain (2%) and US (3%) to achieve a high level of purchase success. Travel companies too now have a chance to reconnect with their customers in a way that’s authentic and speaks to their core beliefs.
Automotive
In line with global respondents, 9% of Canadians say they think automotive companies are successful in keeping with their individual values. On the other hand, Americans register less than one in 20 consumers who are likely to say the same (4%). Italy records the highest score among the European countries (14%), followed by Germany (10%). British consumers are least likely to trust automotive companies (2%) to keep up with their personal values.
Finance
Finally, we look at financial service companies, who are more likely to be identified as the category where consumers feel that their personal beliefs are being followed – 12% globally. Asian markets are more likely than global respondents to say likewise with urban Indians (30%) and Indonesians (29%) taking the top spots in the study. Britons, keeping up with their pattern in other sectors, continue to be the market (4%) least likely to say they finance companies are successfully keeping up with their personal values and beliefs.
Methodology: The data is based on the interviews of adults aged 18 and over in 18 markets with sample sizes varying between 528 and 2,002 for each market. All interviews were conducted online in January 2022. 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.