Affordability: the issue brands can’t afford to ignore

Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose, so the old saying goes – the more things change, the more they stay the same. In 1980 Reagan asked voters, “are you better off today than you were four years ago?” Twelve years later, Clinton ran a successful presidential campaign ruthlessly focussed on a simple mantra: ‘it’s the economy, stupid.’

In just the last twelve months, both Republicans and Democrats have won and lost elections dictated by the same dynamics. Trump returned to power in 2024 promising that ‘starting on day one, we will end inflation and make America affordable again’. A year later, with prices still high and still climbing, Zohran Mamdani was propelled from political obscurity to the mayoralty of New York City by unflinchingly sticking to a clear policy agenda aimed at making the most expensive city in America more affordable.

Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose.

In a world that feels so predictably unpredictable, we’re not sure whether things constantly changing yet always seeming to stay the same is cause for comfort or concern. We guess it depends on whether your glass is half-full or half-empty. Or perhaps more pertinently, whether or not you can afford to fill your glass (or your gas tank) beyond the halfway line.

What’s clear is that a persistent pessimism about America’s economic prospects exists on both sides of the political divide and a new strain of indignant optimism is proving an attractive message for change. ‘Affordability’ is therefore something vanishingly rare these days: a bipartisan issue.

Put very plainly, people being able to afford to buy the products and services that brands produce is an essential part of a functioning economy. That’s something we can certainly all agree on. Yet, we’ve lost count of the number of client briefs we’ve received over the last two years where the business problem amounts to, ‘our customers can’t afford to buy our product anymore.’ And we’re not talking about luxury brands, we’re talking about household staple brands. It’s a worry.

McDonald’s, the great economic bellwether, recently reported flat US earnings dampened by a double digit decline in traffic among low-income customers. Catherin Baab reports for Quartz: “earnings reports from the Golden Arches capture a new normal – a world in which even a snack wrap may be a kind of luxury good.” [1]

Meanwhile, middle-class and upper-income households are flocking from Target to Walmart according to the big box mega-retailer’s latest quarterly financial report [2]. Signs of penny pinching amongst the middle class are particularly concerning because a strong middle class is the engine room of any strong economy. As Richard Huntington writes: “they have sufficient money to spend on discretionary as well as essential purchases and to pay a premium for both. And they are numerous enough to deliver significant volume…The middle class make the economy work, they make markets work and they make brands work – it’s as simple as that.” [3] If the middle class is struggling to afford the basics, we’re in trouble.

An optimistic view might be that perhaps people are just trimming a little fat from their Q3 budgets in preparation for loosening the purse strings over the expensive holiday season. Early indicators say they aren’t. In fact, recent surveys by the National Retail Federation and Deloitte estimate that this year Americans will cut back on holiday spending by somewhere in the region of 1.3–4% compared to last year [4].

This bipartisan political issue is clearly a pressing business issue too. Reading the room and getting the messaging right on affordability is just as important to the survival of businesses as it is to the life and death of political careers.

The stage is set for brands to step forward, meet the moment and to take a stand on behalf of the customers they serve. We’ve seen at the ballot box that people have had enough of high prices and they want to see that indignation reflected back to them. But in addition to feeling seen and validated, people need practical help. They need hope. If you are a value brand, it’s time to double down on your purpose and relentlessly provide value to the people who need it. Seize this opportunity and they will love you for it. Especially during the holidays.

When the enemy is expensive there’s no reputational risk to taking a side.

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References:

McDonald's offers a snapshot of a $5 Meal Deal America, November 05, 2025 [link] 

Walmart just proved it’s America’s solution to the affordability crisis, November 20, 2025 [link]

Saatchi & Saatchi, What The Fuck Is Going On? With Britain’s Heartland, March 2024 [link]

Amid ‘instability and fear’ in Trump’s economy, Americans are cutting holiday spending, November 28, 2025 [link]