Special Edition
Part 2: Digital & Global Divide: Which Brands are Future-Proof?
In today’s volatile economic climate and growing concerns of a potential recession, brands face increasing pressure to demonstrate their resilience and maintain consumer appeal. These challenges, influenced by global policies and market dynamics, have led consumers to reassess their spending habits.
During uncertain times, consumers want the following:
- Clear value
- Reliability
- Trustworthiness
To identify which brands are best positioned to weather or even thrive in these conditions, we developed a Brand Resilience Index. This custom index uses data from E-Score Brand and combines eight key metrics:
- Good Value
- Brand Loyalty
- Reliable
- Trustworthy
- Brand Consideration
- Better than competitors
- Practical
- Would try brand’s new products/services
The following are brands across various categories with the right profile to increase their chances of finding success in turbulent economic environments.
10 Resilient Market Leaders: The following brands have above average awareness and rank high on the Brand Resilience Index, highlighting how strong visibility combined with trust, value, and reliability positions them to thrive – even in uncertain economic conditions.
- Value as a core driver of resilience: Brands like Walmart, ALDI, and Amazon prioritize delivering genuine value to their customers – whether through price, quality, convenience, or a combination of these factors.
- Walmart posts a higher index score than Amazon thanks to a 13-point advantage from the attribute “Good Value.”
- With cautious consumers, trust and practicality offer tech brands a powerful advantage: Both PayPal and Samsung stand out by delivering trust, ease, and reliability. When budgets tighten, consumers seek smart, safe choices – not just cheap ones. These brands are ready to meet that need.
- Samsung and PayPal outscore the brand average by double-digits for reliability and trust – driving their high index scores.
10 Resilient Challenger Brands: The following brands have below-average awareness yet post strong Brand Resilience Index scores showing that even lesser-known brands can outperform if they deliver on trust, value, and loyalty.
- Resilience through differentiation and relevance: Rare Beauty and SharkNinja attract loyal fans through authenticity, inclusivity, and innovation, even without huge awareness. Their unique approach sets them apart from traditional brands.
- Good value and trust are the two highest scoring attributes helping Rare Beauty and SharkNinja post strong index scores – both exceed the brand average for each attribute by double-digits.
- Challengers win by solving real consumer problems: Brands like Calm, Core Hydration, and Dr. Squatch win by offering practical, fresh, and emotionally appealing solutions, especially when well-being matters. Their affordability feels especially good in stressful times.
- Strong index scores for all three brands are driven by value, reliability, and trust – each brand scores above the average for each attribute.
Part 2 Source: E-Score Brand, data from March 2023-March 2025 among P 18-49
See Part I of this series here: https://blog.epollresearch.com/2025/04/03/e-score-how-brands-survive-in-uncertain-times-part-i/
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