NielsenIQ, as part of its recently released Business Resiliency Playbook, evaluated how delaying decisions in an unpredictable economic environment can expose businesses to risk. The market research and analytics company also provided advice to help businesses position for resilience.
NielsenIQ (NIQ) is taking a prepare-for-everything position, suggesting businesses be ready to follow the prevailing economic winds, whether through a healthy economy, a soft landing, a deep recession or stagflation. In effect, businesses should game plan their behavior in all the likely scenarios so they can pivot quickly, as those operators responding fastest to consumer trends will be most likely to have the easiest passage, NIQ suggested.
Economic signals are currently mixed, the market researcher asserted, and even if spending is up, growth has slowed from last year and consumer sentiment is in flux. In troubled economies, NIQ detailed as an example of what businesses might expect, consumers often trade big discretionary spending for small luxuries, including purchases of commodities such as meat, which indicates that cooking at home would be a strategy consumers lean into when pressured.
Specific key findings include, according to the market researcher:
- Consumers don’t often differentiate between causes of economic stress. Whether it’s inflation, job loss or global conflict, consumer behavioral responses are strikingly similar. They pull back on discretionary spending, prioritize essentials, and seek value, often turning to private label items or value retailers.
- Despite fluctuating confidence and sentiment in 2025, consumers continue to spend overall. Consumer spending in key product categories suggests short-term confidence, at least for now.
- Although responses to stress may be similar, the scale and speed of consumer response is proportional to the magnitude of the shock. Businesses that strategize with optimal consumer trend data overlayed with historical performance are best positioned to weather economic headwinds.
“Our data clearly show that the size and scale of an economic ‘shock’ carries more weight than the shock itself,” said Courtenay Verret, vice president, Global Thought Leadership, NIQ. “Having robust data sets, early on, will help insulate your organization from strategic misfires and allow you to pivot critical resources toward maximizing revenue and maintaining loyalty and growth.”
