US value seeking index tracked by Deloitte peaked at 110.8 in April 2025 (with a base index 100)

Buyer behaviour

US consumer value-seeking index over time

Reader Note:: This index comes from Deloitte ConsumerSignals, a monthly survey of US adults (September 2024 – May 2025, n=9,000). It tracks how widely people report cost-cutting, deal-driven or convenience-sacrificing habits, against a base of 100 at the start of tracking. The series is volatile. Deloitte says shoppers may have eased off at times while buying ahead of tariffs or fearing shortages. The report does not explain how the index is calculated.
Evidence:: Self-reported behaviour
Vendor interest:: Moderate — This comes from a company with a commercial interest in this market, so it is not a neutral source.
Sample:: Mixed samples: main analysis uses 932,663 HundredX consumer responses across 290 brands over three years to February 2025; plus about 5 million credit card transactions, 43,560 TrustID survey respondents, 9,000 US ConsumerSignals survey respondents, and 300+ earnings calls and annual reports.

Good for

A rough sense of size and direction, and deciding what to look at first.

Exact numbers, or saying that one thing caused another.
This is an aggregated or average number that covers very different cases. Real results in a particular segment may differ.
The two groups were not split at random — they picked their own side. The difference may have been there before anything was measured.
This comes from a company with a commercial interest in this market, so it is not a neutral source.

Gemini and ChatGPT lead AI shopping research in the U.S.; 64.0% of AI shoppers use two or more assistants

Share of AI shoppers using each AI assistant in the past 90 days
Assistant used in the past 90 days	Share of AI users (%)
Google Gemini	63.5%
ChatGPT	60%
Amazon's shopping assistant	27.5%
Walmart's shopping assistant	22.5%
Microsoft Copilot	22.4%

89.9%

of AI users on the online-shopper trend base said they verified the assistant’s recommendation before buying

60%–90%

of consumers’ value perception was explained by price perception across multiple subsectors in Deloitte’s regression analysis

Our Substack turns the data behind these cards into full breakdowns: what changed, why, and what to do about it.

38%

adoption increase in older populations after Dubai Smart ID used a calming tone and simpler biometric explanations in 2021

Only 36% of Gen Z call themselves price-conscious, vs 40% of Millennials, 45% of Gen X and 55% of Boomers

Share of each generation who describe themselves as price-conscious
Generation	Share who describe themselves as price-conscious (%)
Gen Z	36%
Millennials	40%
Gen X	45%
Baby Boomers	55%

86% of both Gen Z and Millennials say a smartphone is their most important device