Value for money has always mattered, but never quite like this. In 2025, shoppers are weighing every purchase against rising costs, tightening household budgets, and a growing sense that some brands simply offer more than others. What’s striking, however, is that the conversation around value has changed. Consumers are no longer just chasing the lowest price; they’re looking for fairness, consistency, and reassurance that what they’re buying is worth it.

That’s the story behind our new Value for Money Study, an in-depth look at how UK consumers define, judge and reward value across 100 of the nation’s best-known brands. With feedback from over 5,000 adults, the study spans 18 industries – from supermarkets and energy suppliers to airlines, fashion, and streaming services – to paint a complete picture of what value for money really means in 2025.

Understanding Modern Value

When we began this project, our aim was simple: to get beyond the price tag. “Value for money” is one of those phrases every brand wants to own, but few truly understand. We wanted to know how people decide when something feels like good value and what lies behind that instinct that one brand “gets it” while another doesn’t.

Our findings reveal that while price remains a crucial ingredient, it’s rarely the only one. In many categories, consumers take a more rounded view:

• In personal care, value is closely tied to how well products work. Effectiveness is every bit as important as price.
• For soft drinks, chocolate, and snacks, taste and enjoyment define value just as much as cost.
• In broadband, connection quality is key.
• In food-to-go and restaurants, quality of meals drives value perceptions, especially so in restaurants.
• But in categories like supermarkets, airlines, hotels, and energy suppliers, price still takes centre stage, often by a considerable margin.

Across the board, value is best understood as a balance: it’s what people get back for what they pay, and that “return” could be quality, taste, convenience or peace of mind.

The Brands Setting the Standard

At the very top of the 2025 ranking sit Aldi, Premier Inn and Lidl, each achieving exceptional Value for Money Scores above 85. These brands have built strong reputations by being clear about what they offer and sticking to it.

For Aldi and Lidl, the story is refreshingly simple: price. Both retailers are rewarded for offering consistently low prices that shoppers trust. Their success shows that in an era of rising living costs, affordability alone, when delivered reliably, can be a powerful expression of value.

Premier Inn, meanwhile, demonstrates that value isn’t confined to low-cost retail. Guests value its quality, pricing and hotel locations. Home Bargains, IKEA and Dunelm echo similar themes – affordable pricing, wide choice and dependable quality.

Further down the top ten, Octopus Energy stands out for proving that in even the most price-sensitive categories, great customer service can be a true value driver, while Netflix reminds us that value can also come from experience, through quality, range and enjoyment of content that feels worth the subscription.

A Cross-Category Perspective

One of the strengths of this study is its breadth. The 100 brands measured span everything from supermarkets and restaurants to soft drinks, personal care, furniture, telecoms and travel. It’s a rare opportunity to see how expectations of value shift depending on context.

Among the brands included are household names such as Tesco, Asda, Greggs, McDonald’s, Costa, Dove, Wayfair, Disney+, British Gas, Sky, Virgin Media, easyJet, Jet2 and British Airways. Seeing them side by side allows for comparisons that reveal how perceptions of value travel across categories. What counts as value in one world may not in another. The full list of brands included in the study can be found at the bottom of the article.

What the Results Tell Us

Our findings underline that value isn’t only about what people spend; it’s about how they feel about what they get in return.

A striking 83% of people agree that good value means feeling good about what they’ve bought, highlighting the powerful emotional layer underpinning perceptions of value. It’s not only about saving money; it’s about feeling reassured that you’ve made a smart, fair or rewarding choice.

At the same time, 88% of consumers feel too many brands have raised prices without improving what they offer. This sense of imbalance – paying more but getting no more in return – is driving frustration and eroding trust. When that happens, even previously strong brands can quickly lose their value halo.

The brands performing best in our study are those that recognise both sides of the equation: they offer competitive pricing or tangible quality, and they leave customers feeling good about the exchange. In other words, they make people feel that what they’ve bought was not just affordable, but worth it.

Why This Matters for Brands

For marketers and brand owners, these insights are more than an interesting ranking. They’re a warning and an opportunity. As the cost of living continues to shape spending habits, value for money has become the new battleground for brand perception. Understanding what drives it is essential to maintaining relevance.

Our study shows that communicating value isn’t just about discounting or price promotions. It’s about consistency and transparency.

Find Out More

Our Value for Money Study offers detailed category benchmarks, diagnostic insight into what drives perceptions, and segmentation analysis revealing how different audiences judge value.

To find out how your brand performed, and what your customers really think about your value proposition, get in touch with the team here at Impact.

The brands included in this wave of the study in alphabetical are: Aldi, Andrex, Apple TV+, ASDA, ASOS, Boohoo, British Airways, British Gas, BT, Burger King, Cadbury, Caffe Nero, Cif, Coca-Cola, Co-op, Costa, Cushelle, Disney+, Doritos, Dove, Dunelm, E.ON, easyJet, EDF, EE, Fairy, Febreze, Ferrero Rocher, Finish, Galaxy, Giffgaff, Greggs, H&M, Harvester, Head & Shoulders, Hilton, Holiday Inn, Home Bargains, Hotel Chocolat, Hovis, Iceland, IKEA, Jet2, John Lewis, Kettle Chips, KFC, Kingsmill, Lidl, Lindt, Listerine, Lucozade, M&S, McCoy’s, McDonald’s, Morrisons, Mr Muscle, Nando’s, Netflix, New York Bakery, Next, Nicky, Nivea, Now TV, O2, Octopus Energy, Oral-B, OVO Energy, Paramount+, Pepsi, Pizza Express, Premier Inn, Pret, Pringles, Radisson Blu, Ribena, Sainsbury’s, Scottish Power, Sky, St Pierre, Starbucks, Subway, TalkTalk, Tesco, The Range, Three, Toby Carvery, Travelodge, TUI, Velvet, Vimto, Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Media, Vodafone, Wagamama, Waitrose, Walkers, Warburtons, Wayfair, Who Gives A Crap, and Zara.