Key Takeaways
- A new survey showed that consumers are less likely to emphasize where a product is made.
- U.S. consumers are 18% less likely to prioritize buying American-made products than they were three years ago. Consumer loyalty to products made in other countries also declined.
- The survey showed that price-conscious consumers are more likely to look for value than focus on where the product is made.
“Made in the U.S.A.” labels may appeal less to consumers as rising tariff costs are changing people’s attitudes about where products are made.
A new study by The Conference Board found consumers are now less likely to purchase a product based on where it’s made, even if it’s in the U.S. The June survey of 3,000 U.S. adults found that 50% said they were more likely to buy American-made products, down from 60% in a similar survey from 2022.
It’s not just American-made products, either. Consumer loyalty was lower for products made in every country included in the survey.
The sentiment shift comes as President Donald Trump instituted a series of tariffsthat hesaid would help boost American manufacturing, potentially enabling businesses to offer more products made domestically. However, price-conscious buyers are more focused on a product’s price than where it’s made, the report found.
“As price concerns intensify, many U.S. consumers appear to associate ‘made in’ labels with elevated prices due to generally higher domestic production costs as well as tariffs on foreign-made goods,” said Denise Dahlhoff, director of marketing and communications research at The Conference Board. “Increasingly, consumers prioritize value and affordability over emotional affinity for certain countries, including their own.”
Support for American-Made Products Drops for Older Buyers
Support for American-made products dropped across almost every age group and demographic category, with those younger than 35 being the only group more likely to buy American-made products than they were three years ago.
Notably, customers older than 55 were among the most likely to lose support for buying products with the “Made in the U.S.A.” label, dropping 22 percentage points from three years ago.
American-made products were most popular with middle-income consumers; those making between $50,000 and $125,000 a year were most likely to purchase domestically produced goods.
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