Consumer insights amid economic uncertainty: 3 ways to drive revenue now

With ongoing inflation and consumer spending habits shifting, understanding your customers has never been more critical.

New Klaviyo research shows consumers are becoming more selective with their spending, but brand loyalty is strong: 86% of consumers will stick with trusted brands during economic uncertainty, signaling that building meaningful customer relationships is crucial.

The survey* found:

• 90% of consumers worry about potential price increases in consumer goods, making them more selective about the brands they buy from.
• 86% agree they’re more likely to buy from trusted consumer brands in the current economy.
• Similarly, 83% agree they’re more likely to buy from brands they have an existing relationship with in today’s economy.

“In times of economic uncertainty, consumers and brands tend to do the same thing—turn to the familiar,” said Jake Cohen, vice president at Klaviyo. “Consumers tend to reduce their exploration of new brands and businesses double down on great service and support to foster their existing relationships.”

“By leveraging customer data, brands can be more efficient in creating personal experiences that build lasting loyalty and drive revenue,” Cohen adds. “Today’s winners won’t be determined by their ad spend, but by how well they understand and respond to their customers’ needs.”

The good news? Your customer data contains the insights you need to navigate uncertainty—if you know how to use it. Based on behavioral data, Klaviyo users can directly communicate with audience segments to address price sensitivity, inventory issues, and more.

*Research was conducted by OnePulse and surveyed 500 consumers age 25+ on April 4, 2025.

The economic reality for marketers

Economic uncertainty impacts businesses and consumers. To capture wallet share amid macroeconomic pressures, you need marketing strategies that demonstrate value and build trust with customers.

Whether it’s using predictive data to anticipate and respond to shifts in consumer behavior, optimizing messaging to reinforce value beyond price (or transparently explain pricing changes), or focusing on customer retention and loyalty programs, investing in the right solutions to foster long-term relationships will position your brand to adapt and thrive.

The world will always change—but brands that understand and respond to customer needs will have an advantage.

What your customers are saying

Our future of consumer marketing report reveals surprising truths about today’s shoppers’ values:

• Product quality equals price in importance. For first-time purchases, customer reviews, competitive pricing, and accurate product descriptions all carry equal weight (25% each) in consumer decision-making.
• High-value customers remember personalization more frequently. Customers who spend at least $100 per purchase with a brand are more likely to remember personalized discounts or offers, and are more likely to say brands should be personalizing content more often. 
• Organic social remains powerful. Nearly one-third (29%) of consumers discover new retail and ecommerce brands through organic social media, making it a critical channel for acquisition.

Using this data to guide us, let’s look at 3 strategies and case studies that will help you earn a larger share of wallet right now.

3 strategies to thrive during economic uncertainty

1. Don’t cut—consolidate your tech stack

Reducing operating expenses is smart business. But rather than making across-the-board cuts, consider consolidation for better total cost of ownership. 

When you consolidate from disparate tech solutions to a B2C CRM, for instance, you can put marketing tactics in place that just weren’t possible before and increase your revenue per recipient. With customer data flowing into a single source of truth, you can better segment your audience and therefore your messaging to make sure price-sensitive customers vs. loyal customers are getting the right information for them. 

Of course, you can also save on tech costs. When Daily Harvest switched from a fragmented tech stack to a consolidated approach with Klaviyo and Shopify, they reduced tech costs by 18% while saving over 50 developer hours monthly. Their marketing team gained efficiency, too—two marketers now run their entire email program, easily pulling segments and building campaigns.

“The biggest difference is really for us as a company,” says YuJin Yong, VP of digital at Daily Harvest. “Our dev team is very hands-off with Klaviyo.” Daily Harvest. “Our dev team is very hands-off with Klaviyo.”

2. Target precisely with zero- and first-party data

When acquisition costs rise, retention becomes even more valuable. And what existing customers say they value most, according to Klaviyo’s consumer research, are personalized discounts and offers. 

Ruffwear, an outdoor dog gear brand, uses Advanced Klaviyo Data Platform to identify which disengaged customers are most likely to return, then focuses their retention efforts accordingly.

“Getting the right discounts to the right people at the right time gives us better margins,” explains Ernie Kucera, digital marketing manager at Ruffwear.

The results speak for themselves: Ruffwear’s discount rate dropped 10% YoY while overall revenue grew 9%. Their targeted approach to discounting improved margins without sacrificing growth.

You don’t need to use an additional Klaviyo product to bring this to life, though. With tools like dynamic content blocks, segmentation, AI-optimized forms, in-app mobile marketing, and Customer Hub, you can easily make sure the right offers and loyalty points show up for the right customer at the right time—every time. 

3. Leverage AI for efficiency, not replacement

AI isn’t about replacing team members—it’s about multiplying their impact. Harney & Sons, a family-owned tea business, uses Klaviyo’s AI-powered Marketing Analytics to identify “air leaks” in their retention strategy and automatically trigger personalized re-engagement flows.

When they sent a targeted re-engagement campaign to “At risk” and “Needs attention” segments, the average order value was 21% higher than their overall AOV. Their RFM-triggered sunset flow significantly outperforms their previous time-based approach.

“Klaviyo’s Marketing Analytics has allowed us to grow,” says Emeric Harney, marketing director. “It recommends new flows that can close little air leaks in our retention, which has been really helpful.”

Klaviyo’s built-in AI can help you, too. From our email subject line generator and segments AI to review sentiment AI, you always have AI help built into the platform, learning from your store’s data to make recommendations that make the most impact for you right now. 

The path forward: smarter marketing, not just more marketing

The fastest-growing brands won’t be those that spend the most, but those that market most efficiently and use their existing tools most effectively. To help you do that, Klaviyo has analyzed what the fastest-growing brands on the platform are doing to help you hit similar benchmarks. 

Send at least 1 campaign per week 

The fastest-growing brands on Klaviyo are sending weekly campaigns in Klaviyo. The top 10% of brands, meanwhile, are seeing nearly 55% open rates, 5% click rates, 0.4% placed order rates, and $0.97 revenue per recipient for email campaigns. For SMS campaigns, the top 10% of brands are seeing 15% click rates, .65% order rates, and $0.81 revenue per recipient. 

How can you get up to speed with sending more campaigns? Easy: segmentation and a campaign calendar. 

Klaviyo’s year-long holiday campaign calendar features more than 150 dates in 2025 you can use for campaigns. Some of the biggest non-BFCM campaign dates include Memorial Day, Mother’s Day, the 4th of July, and the back-to-school period. But you should also be sending weekly campaigns to segments of your audience that your campaign messages will most resonate with. 

Segment your campaigns based on a customer’s average order value, predicted lifetime value, or their stage in the customer journey (subscriber vs. one-time purchaser vs. repeat purchaser). 

Use quizzes or post-purchase surveys throughout the year to gather additional zero-party preference data you can segment on, too. For instance, if you sell cookware, segment your list based on a customer’s stated preferred type of cookware—stainless steel vs. cast iron—or based on their favorite types of recipes—salty vs. sweet; breakfast, lunch, or dinner. 

Have at least 3 automated flows set up 

Entrepreneur and small businesses growing the fastest on Klaviyo have at least 3 automated flows set up. Mid-market brands have at least 7. Automated flows include welcome series, browse abandonment series, abandoned cart emails, post-purchase messages, and more. 

The top 10% of automated flows drive $16.15 in revenue per recipient, with the abandoned cart flow leading the pack at $27.12. 

Segment at least 66% of your sends 

The fastest-growing brands on Klaviyo are sending 66% of their email and SMS sends across at least 6 segments. This coincides well with our benchmark data: the brands seeing the top 10% of engagement for their email and SMS messages are segmenting those messages to the right audience. 

Not sure how to increase your segmentation? Here are Klaviyo’s recommended segments for past purchasers (i.e., people who have made at least one purchase with your brand):

• High rollers: recent, frequent customers who spend more than the AOV
• Potential high rollers: recent purchasers who spend above AOV, but not frequently
• Brand enthusiasts: recent, frequent customers who spend average or below AOV
• Waiting for wows: recent, infrequent customers who spend below AOV
• Former RFM loyal customers: customers who are currently “At risk” or “Needs attention” but were previously “Loyal”
• People who live near your store: subscribers who live nearby your storefront and may be interested in attending in-store events, sales, and more
• People who have bought a certain item: customers who may be interested in cross- or up-sell efforts, based on their purchase history
• Holiday shoppers: customers who first bought from your brand during BFCM
• Discount shoppers: shoppers who only buy from the sale collection
• People who are expected to buy soon: shoppers who are likely about to buy, based on predictive analytics
• People who are expected to churn: customers who are at risk of churning, based on predictive analytics

Hit a 2.75% conversion rate on your forms 

Brands growing the fastest on Klaviyo see at least a 2.75% conversion rate on their forms. If you aren’t seeing something similar, try using Klaviyo AI to optimize your forms. 

Form conversion rate is critical to growing your list and reducing long-term acquisition costs, making this a conversion rate to keep a close eye on. When it drops below 2.25%, you need to audit your current form messaging and targeting strategy to see where you’re missing, and A/B test to find what works. 

By focusing on these areas, you can not only weather economic uncertainty but emerge stronger, with deeper customer relationships and more efficient operations.

Consolidate your channels 

Using point solutions for omnichannel marketing is no longer a feasible option for high-growth brands.  When you centralize customer data and marketing channels, you can expect: 

• Greater understanding of engagement across channels
• More revenue from using cross-channel data to determine who gets a follow-up message
• Segmentation and personalization that makes sense 
• Accurate reporting and channel attribution 
• Seamless integration with social media advertising platforms for improved targeting and ROAS
• More reviews from happy customers 
• Optimized list growth

Each of these benefits improves your marketing impact and ROI, giving you more visibility into your customer journey and the ability to create better customer experiences. 

Your action plan for today

1. Audit your tech stack. Identify opportunities to consolidate tools and reduce costs without sacrificing capabilities.
2. Make sure you’re using the full power of Klaviyo. Send weekly campaigns, use automated flows, segment your audience, and make sure you’re growing your lists effectively.
3. Personalize your approach. Tailor your messaging and offers based on customer spending patterns and preferences. And use empathetic messaging and marketing to meet your customers where they’re at.
4. Test and optimize. Use A/B testing to refine your messaging, creative, and targeting as consumer preferences shift.

Economic uncertainty doesn’t mean marketing stagnation. By leveraging your consumer insights and focusing on efficiency and personalization, you can continue to grow.