Trend Force 2: value priority spreads across income segments and categories

Summary

McKinsey identifies sustained cost consciousness as one of two forces, alongside rapid technological change, that are reshaping the consumer sector with unusual breadth and persistence. Under this force, the emphasis consumers put on value is no longer confined to lower-income shoppers or to particular product categories but runs across all of them. Being big within established channels offers less protection than it used to, and brands must keep proving their worth to be chosen. Value for money is the attribute cited most often, by nearly three-quarters of consumers weighing health products and services. Together with technology, this rising price sensitivity underpins the report's four global trends, including the rise of the resourceful consumer.