DISQO's latest Consumer Trends Report reveals how consumers are thinking about purchases, advertising and the world in 2025

Los Angeles-based DISQO recently released its second annual Consumer Trends Report, revealing new insights into consumer attitudes and behaviors for 2025. This year’s report includes revelations about consumers’ economic outlook, spending plans, media preferences and advertising perceptions.

“In 2025, marketers will increasingly seek to align brands with performance by quantifying the incrementality lift of their ad campaigns across channels and throughout the full funnel,” said Stephen Jepson, president of media effectiveness at DISQO. “This year’s report underlines the importance of this connection as people shift their purchase journeys, embracing new capabilities offered across platforms. It’s an important tool for marketers looking to keep and win consumers in 2025.”

Here are some of the key trends from DISQO’s 2025 Consumer Trends Report:

• The power of a brand to drive consumers to purchase

Sixty percent (60%) of consumers rank personal experience with a brand as the top factor shaping their brand perception.

Gen X and Boomers especially value brand experience, with these groups 12% and 23% more likely, respectively, than Gen Z to consider brand experience in their purchases. This points to the lasting impression brands leave during the customer lifecycle.

• Fragmented product discovery journey

Product research is increasingly conducted across various channels, with 50% of consumers using search engines, 32% relying on retailer websites and 28% on social media.

• Social media surpasses TV as a purchase driver

Social media has overtaken TV as the top purchase driver, with 43% of people citing social media and 41% citing TV as a purchase motivator.

Millennials (+2pps) and Gen X (+3pps) have both increased their responsiveness to social ads over last year while Gen Z remains steady year-over-year at 62%.

• Growing optimism balanced with economic concerns

Consumers are cautiously optimistic about the future, with 40% anticipating that 2025 will be better than 2024.

However, inflation (63%) and economic uncertainty (52%) remain prominent concerns, particularly among Gen X and Boomers.

DISQO surveyed 2,988 U.S. adults. The data informing the report was balanced on age, sex, ethnicity and income and weighted to represent the U.S. population.

In an unrelated report, Resonate, a leader in predictive consumer intelligence, also recently released its Spring 2025 Outlook Consumer Trends Report, revealing significant shifts in American consumer behavior as financial stability improves for many. For the first time in over a year, more Americans report being debt-free and in better financial shape, sparking changes in spending priorities. The report highlights key trends shaping the consumer landscape in 2025:

• Improved Financial Health: A growing number of Americans are experiencing financial stability, with a marked decline in consumer debt levels for the first time since November 2023.

• Shifting Spending Priorities: With increased disposable income, consumers are focusing on home improvements and major purchases in the coming months.

• Staycation Surge: About 40% of Americans plan to stay closer to home this summer, favoring home-based leisure activities.

• Persistent Broad Economic Concerns: Despite improved finances, respondents expressed concerns about healthcare costs, poor leadership and government corruption, and a record 42.5% of Americans now believe the economy will never fully recover to prepandemic levels.

"The Resonate Consumer Trends Report provides real-time valuable insights into the evolving consumer landscape providing brands and retailers the intel they need to optimize marketing efforts," said Bryan Gernert, CEO of Resonate. "Understanding how these shifts are impacting spending habits and overall consumer sentiment trends is crucial for businesses seeking to adapt their strategies and drive growth during economic uncertainty."

-Paul Williams

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