Shoppers choosing cheaper goods damp most consumer stocks

Consumers kept choosing cheaper alternatives in 2024. This tendency, also called downtrading, may continue for some time.

Call it cautious optimism, but despite easing price pressure and lower interest rates making households less pessimistic about the future, consumers remain frugal.

Following fast inflation in 2022 and 2023, more consumers last year were less willing to splurge on better quality essential products, according to a survey by UBS Evidence Lab.

No splurging on quality goods