2022 has been a forgettable year for Meta: its stock price plummeted, Facebook suffered its first-ever drop in US users, and Zuckerberg’s metaverse plans have been met with apathy. Yet somehow Meta has emerged as the fastest-growing brand in Morning Consult’s annual report [download page].
Per the report, “growth was determined by taking the share of consumers who said they were considering purchasing from the brand from Oct. 1 – 31, 2022 and subtracting the share who said the same from Jan. 1 – 31, 2022.” By this (somewhat odd) metric, Meta came out on top by a significant margin, with a 6.5-point gain during the period of analysis. Even so, its purchase consideration score of 19.3% in October was in the bottom half of the top 20 brands, with Frito-Lay (#18) setting the pace among the leaders at 59.7%.
That Frito-Lay was among the highest in purchase consideration speaks to one of the key trends in this latest report: Food & Beverage brands with low price points saw sizable increases in purchase consideration among consumers, most likely as as result of a difficult economic environment leading to more price-sensitive purchases.
In fact, purchase consideration as a whole has declined this year. Among all the brands tracked for the report, average purchase consideration growth was actually negative, down by 1.37% points. That was the first negative growth since 2018, which averaged a comparatively lower -0.57%, as Morning Consult calls this year “one of record-low purchasing consideration.”
Purchase consideration growth was particularly low among Millennials. Their top 20 fastest-growing brands averaged only a 3.8%-point increase during the January-through-October period of analysis, compared to +6.9% points for Gen Z adults, +6.6% points for Gen Xers and +5.2% points for Baby Boomers.
Different Strokes for Different Folks
No single brand featured on each generation’s list of fastest-growing brands. Here are some highlights from each:
Gen Z
- Roku was the fastest-growing brand for this generation, up by 10.1% points. It also had the highest purchase consideration score among the top 20, at 49.9%.
- In a nod to the popularity of videogames among youth, Grand Theft Auto was the second-fastest growing brand in purchase consideration, up 8.1% points to 42.1%. Discord, a chat app with heavy involvement in the gaming industry, came in at #5.
- Four of the 20 fastest-growing brands were in the Travel & Hospitality sector: Breeze Airways (#7); Gaylord Hotels (#8); JW Marriott (#11); and Homes & Villas by Marriott International (#13).
Millennials
- STōK Cold Brew was the fastest-growing brand in purchase consideration among Millennials, the only with a greater-than-5%-point increase over the course of the study period (+5.5% points to 16.7%).
- Millennials’ top 20 was littered with Food & Beverage brands, from Gatorade Fit (#2) to DiGiorno Pizza (#3), Frito-Lay (#7), CELSIUS Fitness Drinks (#8), Kraft Barbecue Sauce (#10) and Magnum Ice Cream (#14).
- Alcohol brands also made the list, with Captain Morgan Rum in at #5 and Michelob Ultra at #13.
- Youth enjoy music, and Millennials this year have been more interested in some brands that give them ways to listen: Apple AirPods was the 16th-fastest growing brand, and Beats by Dre took the #20 spot.
Gen X
- SHEIN topped the list for Gen Xers, with a 9.3%-point increase in purchase consideration, to 18.6%.
- Meta performed well with this generation, coming in at #2 and growing in purchase consideration by 9% points to 22.5%.
- With Doritos (#4), Krispy Kreme (#8), Smucker’s (#15) and 3 Musketeers (#18) on their list, Gen Xers also upped their purchase consideration for Food & Beverage brands this year.
Baby Boomers
- T-Mobile led the way for Baby Boomers, with its purchase consideration rising by 7.6% points to 28.6%.
- Meta also came in #2 among Baby Boomers, though its consideration was considerably lower among this generation, at 15.7%, than it was for Gen Xers (22.5%).
- Food & Beverage brands also dotted the list for this older generation, perhaps even more than in other generations, as evidenced by the following brands: Great Value Cream Cheese (#5); Dr. Pepper (#6); Chobani Yogurt (#7); The Coca-Cola Co. (#12); Cheerios (#13); Yoplait (#15); and Bisquick (#19).
For more, download the study here.
