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.

Also: How Nike plans to navigate a $1 billion tariff impact

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.