Consumer Sentiment Index

Retail’s winners aren’t those who check every box, but those who deliver on the aspects of access, experience, product, price, and service that matter most to consumers within a given sector. The Consumer Sentiment Index is our tool for mapping out these priorities.

Consumer sentiment has dropped. New tariffs, pricing instability, and supply chain disruptions have kept products off shelves. Consumers are worn out, and the 2025 CSI results clearly show how these pressures are reshaping consumer priorities. The shift plays out different across fashion, where a broken in-store experience is taxing retailers; the new beauty x health x wellness super-industry; and home, a sector that shows strong signs that consumers are more aspirational than the macro conditions would have supported.

We use the CSI dashboard to take retailers through their sector positioning and visualize the key wants of their consumers, cut by income and demographic. This detailed data allows companies to develop a roadmap of priorities aligned with their value proposition and what matters most to their consumer.

Key findings by sector

Cover of the 2025 Consumer Sentiment Index: Fashion report, featuring a Matisse-inspired face composed of colorful shapes and an illustrated shoe on a teal background.

Fashion 2025

Today’s consumer is in flux—worn out by volatility, tariffs, and price hikes, and redefining value on their own terms. Sentiment is low, but priorities are clear: service and experience now outrank price, while trust, transparency, relevance, and authenticity lead. In this reset, brands that consistently deliver clarity and connection are the ones breaking through.

Cover of the 2025 Consumer Sentiment Index: Beauty report, featuring a Matisse-inspired face composed of colorful shapes and an illustrated paint palette on a burgundy background..

Beauty 2025

Consumers are increasingly buying products through med spas and derm offices as the beauty/health/wellness divide dissolves. The defined edge of what used to be beauty has blurred as optimization culture (life-hacking and longevity science) pushes retailers to provide protocols—not just products. The most-loved retailers are those consumers disclose in their proof-of-results reviews and source through parasocial connections to influencers like them.

Cover of the 2025 Consumer Sentiment Index: Home report, featuring a Matisse-inspired face composed of colorful shapes and an illustrated chair on an orange background.

Home 2025

When we look at the competitive landscape, we find that price pressures (inflation, tariffs, debt) have not sent consumers after rock-bottom prices. In fact, the broadest takeaway is a desire to move toward the next upgrade. We found that Millennials value more than just cheap ready-to-assemble furniture; they are beginning to trend toward full-service higher quality pieces that may take them to and through the next stage of their life.