Harris Poll: Astonishing 82% of Shoppers Want a Brand’s Values to Align With Their Own

In 2022, tech giant Google commissioned a Harris Poll study of consumers’ current spending priorities. Published on April 27, 2022 on its GoogleCloud blog, the results signaled a massive shift in consumer sentiment.

For over a decade things like Price, Quality, Availability, and Reputation drove consumer decision making when standing in the grocery aisle picking between Brand A vs. Brand B vs. Brand C.  While ‘Price’ and ‘Availability’ remain in the top 2 spots among shoppers, a new criteria has been catapulted into 3rd position: Values Alignment.

• 82% of shoppers want a Brand’s values to align with their own
• 75% had already boycotted a Brand because of a conflict in values
• 39% said the Brand would be permanently banned from their shopping carts

It was official. Values based shopping had arrived.

Previously considered by some to be a niche trend, values based shopping was now a priority for more than 8 out of 10 consumers. On top of that, the shoppers polled by Harris were saying they were ready to vote with their wallets and in a big way: three-quarters said they had ALREADY changed Brand allegiance because the Brand’s stated values were misaligned with their own personal values. According to GoogleCloud VP of Consumer Packaged Goods Giusy Bounfantino, “[consumers] want that good feeling that comes from spending their money with a company that aligns with their values.”