Introduction
Every brand talks about value. Fewer actually understand what it means to the people buying from them.
That gap between how brands define value and how consumers experience it has never been more costly to ignore. With household finances under sustained pressure and purchase decisions being scrutinised more carefully than ever, brands that assume value is simply a price conversation are working from an incomplete picture.
Our latest research, drawn from a nationally representative survey of 5,010 UK consumers conducted in early 2026, reveals a more nuanced and frankly more actionable story.
The financial backdrop: caution is the new normal
To understand how consumers judge value, you first have to understand how they’re feeling about money.
The picture our Wave 2 data paints is one of widespread caution. While a quarter of UK consumers describe themselves as financially comfortable, the majority are actively managing their spending, making comparisons, cutting back where they can, and thinking carefully before parting with money.
88% of consumers say they look for the best deal before making a purchase, and this holds almost uniformly across every age group. 87% say too many brands raise prices without improving what they offer. 88% say they always compare prices before buying anything significant.
These aren’t the behaviours of a small segment of bargain-hunters. They are the baseline expectations of the mainstream British shopper in 2026.
Value isn’t just about price, but price still matters
One of the most consistent findings across our research is that consumers hold a more sophisticated view of value than many brands give them credit for.
85% of UK consumers agree that “good value means feeling good about what I’ve bought.” That’s an emotional response, not a transactional one. It speaks to satisfaction, trust, and the feeling that a purchase was the right decision, not simply the cheapest one available.
At the same time, 72% say they don’t mind paying full price if they trust the brand. Trust, not price, is the deciding factor for nearly three in four consumers when they feel confident in a brand.
This creates a clear implication for how brands should think about their value proposition. Competing on price alone is a race you can’t win indefinitely. Competing on trust – through consistent quality, honest communication, and reliability – is a position that compounds over time.
What consumers are actually weighing up
So what does go into a value judgement? Our research uses a Max Diff methodology to identify which factors genuinely drive value perceptions, separating what consumers say matters from what actually influences their behaviour.
Across sectors, a cluster of factors consistently rise to the top: product or service quality, price relative to alternatives, reliability, and transparency. The weight given to each shifts by category – for supermarkets, the calculus looks different than it does for energy suppliers or streaming services – but the underlying logic is consistent. Value is an assessment of what you get relative to what you give up, across multiple dimensions simultaneously.
What this means practically: a brand with competitive pricing but inconsistent quality will lose the value battle. So will a brand with a genuinely superior product that fails to communicate it clearly.
The trust deficit and the opportunity it creates
Perhaps the most striking finding in our Wave 2 data is how widespread scepticism about brand communications has become.
87% of consumers agree that too many brands raise prices without improving what they offer. This isn’t just frustration; it’s a settled expectation that brands will behave in self-interested ways and communicate misleadingly.
For brands willing to do the opposite, there is a real opportunity. Our research shows that consistent pricing over time and across channels is one of the most effective trust-builders available. Positive reviews and a track record of honest promotions also register strongly. These are achievable commitments, and they pay dividends in value perception that pure price investment cannot replicate.
Different consumers, different value lenses
One thing our research makes consistently clear is that “the consumer” is not a monolithic entity. How people judge value shifts meaningfully by age, financial situation, and what we call value orientation – the underlying attitude and behaviour pattern that shapes how someone approaches purchase decisions.
Younger consumers (18–34) are significantly more likely to wait for discounts before buying, to tell others when they feel they’ve got a good deal, and to be willing to pay more for convenience. Older consumers (55+) tend to be more confident in their finances and more loyal once trust is established.
This matters for how brands communicate value. A message built around deal mechanics and discount culture will resonate with one segment and actively undermine your positioning with another. The brands getting this right are those who understand which consumers they are talking to and adapt accordingly.
What the data means for your sector
Our research covers value for money perceptions across more than ten sectors, including supermarkets, energy suppliers, streaming services, fashion retailers, homeware and furniture, food and drink, travel, and more. The headline findings described here represent broad patterns, but the sector-level picture is where the genuinely actionable intelligence sits.
How does your brand rank against competitors on value for money? What would make your customers switch? What do they specifically mean when they say a brand in your category is or isn’t good value? These are questions our Wave 2 data can answer at the sector level, for the brands your customers are actually choosing between.
Wave 3 of the tracker is due to launch in August 2026, with fieldwork capturing how the landscape continues to evolve.
If you’d like to see how the value for money picture looks in your sector specifically, get in touch. We can share a taster of the relevant findings – no commitment required.
To request a sector taster or to find out about joining wave 3, please contact Tom Chedzoy-Gould, Managing Director at: tom.chedzoy-gould@impactmr.com.
Impact Research is an independent market research agency based in Walton-on-Thames, UK. All research is conducted in compliance with the ISO 20252 international standard and GDPR. Wave 2 fieldwork: February 2026, n=5,010, nationally representative of the UK adult population.