Selective Shoppers Want Quality and Cultural Currency, Not Just Low Prices

New Report from BCG and Women's Wear Daily (WWD) Finds That 53% of Consumers Say "Quality for the Price" Is the Primary Driver of Value

BOSTON, Oct. 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Amid falling consumer confidence, US shoppers are buying less on impulse and being more deliberate about their spending. Decoding Growth in Uncertain Times, a new report from Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and Women's Wear Daily (WWD), draws on a survey of 4,000 US consumers, an analysis of 9 million social media posts, and interviews with industry leaders to understand what drives consumer preference and choice in these uncertain times.

"Consumers look beyond the price tag for value. They're weighing fit, style, materials, and craftsmanship, plus intangibles like a brand's cultural relevance," says Mrin Nayak, a BCG managing director and partner, and coauthor of the report. "Brands have to deliver on the fundamentals while connecting with the lifestyle and cultural moments their customers care about so their products feel worth the investment."

"The way consumers discover and shop for fashion is evolving, and their expectations are far from uniform," says Amanda Smith, CEO of Fairchild Media Group (which includes WWD, Beauty Inc, Footwear News, and Sourcing Journal). "Consumers are welcoming AI technology that makes shopping easier but still value human creativity and cultural relevance from brands. To meet these diverse preferences, innovation and brand distinctiveness will need to go hand in hand."

Quality Is King in Fashion Consumers' Minds

Style and quality now lead the reasons shoppers give for their most recent purchase, ahead of price and promotions. More than half (53%) identify "quality for the price" as the biggest driver of value.

When judging quality in apparel, luxury, and footwear, consumers rank materials and how a product looks and feels above brand reputation and price.

Cultural Relevance Matters, Especially to Younger Consumers

Nearly half (46%) consider cultural relevance an important factor in deciding which brands to buy, and 60% will pay more for products from brands they perceive as original and innovative.

Cultural relevance matters even more to younger consumers, who are 10 percentage points more likely than average to call it an important factor in brand choice.

Apparel related to sports was a major part of this, with 77% of respondents indicating sports and sport culture were part of their fashion decisions.

AI Offers Convenience, but Consumers Still Value Human Creativity

Consumers are better informed than ever before, with 91% noting that they actively research their fashion choices before purchasing.

As AI usage grows, 73% of consumers would adopt AI tools that help narrow product choices or assess value for money. By contrast, nearly half (47%) say they would be more likely to buy from brands that use only human-created creative content.

Download the publication here:

http://www.bcg.com/publications/2026/what-us-fashion-shoppers-value

Media Contacts:

BCG: Kendall Kosten; [email protected]

WWD: Abby Kalicka; [email protected]

About WWD

Women's Wear Daily (WWD) provides a balance of timely, credible business news and key fashion trends for leading retailers, designers, manufacturers, marketers, financiers, Wall Street analysts, international moguls, media executives, ad agencies, trend-makers, and global consumers. Founded in 1910 by Edmund Fairchild and helmed for over two decades by legendary publisher John B. Fairchild, WWD has been the daily media of record and the industry voice of authority for over 115 years. Operated and published by Penske Media Corporation under Fairchild Media Group, WWD reaches a global audience of nearly 16 million+ every month across print, digital, mobile, video, social, and events, including the annual WWD Apparel & Retail CEO Summit and Global Summits in 3 international markets. As an increasingly complex marketplace heightens the need for information and competitive intelligence, WWD delivers spirited coverage with frequency, integrity, and a legacy of getting it right and getting it first.

About Boston Consulting Group

Boston Consulting Group bridges the gap between ambition and outcomes for the world's leading companies and organizations. We are built for this era of unprecedented change — bringing strategic clarity rooted in over 60 years of deep domain knowledge, combined with applied AI shaped by our practitioners. BCG works shoulder-to-shoulder with CEOs across industries and geographies to deliver transformative impact at scale: stronger returns, transferred capabilities, and change that sticks. For more information, visit bcg.com.

SOURCE Boston Consulting Group (BCG)