How CPG Brands Can Track Price-to-Value Perception During Tariff Disruption
The latest round of tariff announcements has added yet another layer of pricing pressure for consumer packaged goods brands. With import costs climbing, these brands face two main options: raise prices or adjust product size and quality. Both strategies risk undermining consumers’ price-to-value perceptions, especially as more shoppers today struggle with diminished purchasing power.
Therefore, it is vital for CPG brands to track real-time, price-to-value perceptions, understanding how consumers perceive the value they’re getting for the price they’re asked to pay. And that means knowing which early warning signs to watch, which signals to prioritize and where their greatest vulnerabilities lie.
Monitoring Price-to-Value Perception
Tariff-driven price increases and product adjustments aren’t abstract risks; they have immediate consequences for how consumers perceive a brand’s value. Today, that perception directly influences loyalty, purchase intent and the likelihood of switching to competing or lower-priced alternatives. And with lingering inflationary pressures still weighing on household budgets, shoppers are quicker than ever to question whether a product is worth its price.
Our recent consumer sentiment data backs this up. In a dataset of over 408,000 feedback records for 700 personal care products — items such as toothpaste, soap, and deodorant — mentions of price and value concerns increased by 5.2% in April 2025 compared to April 2024. While this category has seen a milder increase relative to others, the sustained growth suggests a broader sensitivity to price-to-value conversations even for low-dollar, essential items.
When it comes to snacks, our dataset of over 263,000 consumer feedback records for 1,305 food snacking products, including chips, cookies, pretzels, candy and chocolate — relative mentions of price-to-value increased by 11.3% in April 2025 vs. April 2024. This increase was more pronounced than personal care products and can, in part, be explained by the fact that many food products and ingredients are internationally sourced.
Discretionary categories tell a sharper story. Our recent dataset covering 441,000 consumer feedback records for 93 electronics products, such as noise-canceling headphones and smart speakers, showed a dramatic 56.3% year-over-year increase in price/value mentions in April 2025. Notably, this surge began before the latest round of tariffs and accelerated following the “Liberation Day” announcements, highlighting just how exposed certain categories are to both real and anticipated price hikes.
All in all, there will be clear winners and losers in this environment. Brands with insulated supply chains, pricing flexibility or strong domestic sourcing will be better positioned to weather tariff-driven disruptions. But the real differentiator will be how effectively brands can monitor and respond to shifts in consumer price-to-value perception in real time. Unlike macroeconomic forces or tariff rates, this is a factor brands can actively manage, and those that move quickly to address perception risks will be far better equipped to navigate the volatility ahead.
Prioritizing the Right Data Signals
In a volatile pricing environment, the earliest signs of trouble appear in the voice of the customer. But with feedback pouring in from dozens of channels, knowing which signals to prioritize is critical.
Start by monitoring product reviews, star ratings and social media mentions for specific complaints tied to price increases, product downsizing or perceived quality declines. Keywords like “not worth it,” “too expensive,” or “smaller than before” are early indicators that consumers are reassessing value. Watch also for spikes in return rates or customer service issues related to pricing and product changes.
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At the category level, certain products are inherently more vulnerable to price-to-value shifts. Discretionary purchases like apparel, cosmetics and imported household items typically see faster switching behavior than staples like cleaning supplies or shelf-stable foods. AI-powered sentiment analysis can help pinpoint which product lines are experiencing the steepest perception declines and whether those shifts correlate with pricing, sizing or sourcing changes.
The key is cutting through the noise to focus on relevant signals. Not every mention of price is a crisis, but repeated complaints about shrinking product sizes or quality declines demand attention. Feedback from loyal or high-frequency buyers should be weighted more heavily, as these groups are both more valuable and more sensitive to perceived value changes. Prioritizing these insights allows brands to act early, before perceptions harden into lost business.
Turning Insights Into Action
Data is only valuable when it drives action. If sentiment data shows growing frustration over price hikes or product downsizing, brands should work to soften those perceptions through targeted discounts, loyalty incentives or temporary promotions. When price changes are unavoidable, reframing marketing messaging to highlight domestic production, superior product quality or category-leading benefits can help preserve perceived value and consumer trust.
Real-time consumer feedback should also guide product management decisions. If certain items are receiving constant complaints or showing signs of sales decline, brands should assess how they can reinforce value and retain price-sensitive customers. This might involve bundling slower-moving products with high-performing ones, testing new packaging formats or even delisting products altogether. Whatever the approach, decisions should be guided by real-time performance data and consumer insights, not assumptions.
In today’s market, agility and responsiveness are the ultimate differentiators. The brands that come out ahead won’t necessarily be those with the lowest prices or the most insulated supply chains, but those that listen closely to consumers, track price-to-value perceptions in real time, and adapt with precision. Staying nimble and responsive to shifting sentiment is how brands will protect loyalty, defend market share and successfully navigate the volatility ahead.
Sogyel Lhungay is the VP of insights at Yogi, an AI-driven consumer insights platform that transforms mountains of messy feedback into real-time insights, revealing hidden trends and unmet needs. By unifying data from ratings, reviews, customer care interactions, social discussions, surveys and more into a single source of truth, Yogi helps brands make smarter decisions faster.
