There used to be a saying that when America sneezes, the rest of the world catches a cold. Never has this been truer. At the moment, the USA is achoo-ing its way around the world led by Mr Trump. Other world leaders are desperately trying to work out what the equivalent of a dose of economic Calpol is and how much it will take to put Trump into a calm state. Meanwhile, uncertainty abounds everywhere. And if there is one thing businesses dislike, it’s uncertainly. Just as a fragile UK economy is trying to find its feet, Donald Trump is burning the midnight oil, revising economic books written in the 40s and deciding that tariffs are the answer to his own country’s challenges.
To paraphrase my old economics teacher, Mr Corry:
“International trade tariffs often backfire because they raise prices for consumers, disrupt supply chains, and trigger retaliatory measures from other countries. Instead of protecting domestic industries, tariffs can make them less competitive by reducing innovation and efficiency. They also hurt exporters when trade partners impose their own tariffs in response. In a global economy, no country operates in isolation, so barriers like tariffs usually create more problems than they solve, leading to slower growth, strained trade relations, and higher costs for everyone involved.”
He would have made me write that in green ink at the time, but the result was the same, essentially no market is an island. I have written before about how we, as a species and as consumers, crave community and connectedness. Tariffs are the opposite of that – they aim to drive a wedge between us in a misguided attempt to create economic growth.
In a world where the only certainty is uncertainty, businesses face a stark choice: rely on assumptions and hope for the best, or actively listen to their market and move with confidence. It’s that simple. If you are a brand owner, pick one. Before you do, I might warn you that the former is a path fraught with risk; it’s getting dark, and you have no torch. The latter is a way of creating room for your senior strategic thinkers to engage and grow your brand at the same time; it is one of those torches that you see advertised online, the ones that light up a small forest. Your competition may be scrambling looking for torch batteries in the office’s kitchen drawer, but you have a much better option –LifeStars.
LifeStars is not just a tool – it’s a strategic advantage. It gives businesses a direct line to real consumers, providing rapid, relevant insights into what people are thinking, wanting, rejecting, and considering. Not just from your own customers, but your competitors’ customers too. You see in times of great uncertainty, customers may be less loyal and want to weigh up their options. The adage goes ‘If it ain’t broke don’t fix it’. Unfortunately for many, it is broken right now and fixing it means making new choices. Be honest, you have probably cancelled or amended a subscription in the last few months. You have definitely made a few product substitutions in the supermarket. Of course you have, and so have your customers. It’s how we exercise our control and feel some semblance of normality when the world around us is changing.
In a time of rising costs, volatile spending patterns, and rapidly shifting loyalties, being close to your customers removes the guesswork. And when guesswork is gone, what’s left is certainty and growth.
I realise that all the above could sound like one long ad for LifeStars. In a way, I suppose it is. I would like more clients to experience LifeStars, as I know it can change their business. However in my opinion, all of the above is 100% accurate. Let’s look at the case for more certainty, I only wish I was making some of this up!
THE UK ECONOMY IS CURRENTLY A FRAGILE SPIDERWEB OF UNCERTAINTY
Consumer Uncertainty is High
- 66% of UK consumers say they are “more cautious” with spending than they were a year ago (YouGov, Jan 2025).
- Household savings are dwindling. UK disposable income is projected to decline by 2.3% in Q2 2025 due to interest rates, energy costs, and food inflation (Office for Budget Responsibility – yes, the guys who were all over the radio a couple of weeks ago for the Economic statement).
- Consumers are trading down across categories – from branded to own-label products, from premium experiences to value offerings. This is the behaviour that precedes or occurs during a recession.
Retail Performance is Mixed and Volatile
- UK retail sales dropped 3.2% year-on-year in Q4 2024 (BRC), with non-food categories like fashion and electronics seeing the biggest declines.
- Online sales have lost momentum after pandemic highs, now accounting for just under 26% of all retail sales – down from 37% during lockdown peaks.
- Footfall in high streets remains 10% below pre-pandemic levels, especially outside London, and major cities (Springboard UK).
Business Leaders Are Feeling the Pressure
- 80% of UK CEOs say “lack of clear consumer insight” is holding back decision-making (PwC UK CEO Survey, 2024).
- 7 in 10 say their business model needs “urgent” transformation to respond to changing customer needs.
- Yet only 29% have real-time access to actionable customer intelligence across segments (Capgemini Research Institute, 2023). We call these the enlightened ones!
The threats to the economy are different this time – we can’t keep looking backwards to plot our way forward.
For decades, many businesses made strategic bets based on instinct, past performance, or internal data like sales and CRM activity. That used to be enough. Now it’s dangerous.
Why Traditional Insight Gaps Hurt UK Brands
- Over-reliance on internal data: Tells you what happened at a specific point in time. Usually not frequently enough and not far-reaching enough.
- Outdated segment models: Most were built before the pandemic, and no longer reflect today’s fragmented customer reality.
- Slow research cycles: Commissioning bespoke market research can take weeks or months, which is too slow for real-time decision-making. It has its place, but it’s not for everyday understanding.
“Retail has changed more in the past five years than in the previous fifty,” says Retail Economics UK. “But many insight strategies are stuck in the past.”
The result? Missed trends, failed launches, wasted marketing budgets, and a growing disconnect between brands and buyers.
There is a lot of change with AI now firmly in place and its mate, Agentic AI, starting to rear its head. That stuff needs to be learned but the insight gap mentioned above is just about doing what we all know how to do, but in a slightly different way. It’s a simpler way to bring insight to every big business decision and ensure your brand is ahead of the pack.
LifeStars is your map through uncertainty, turning guesswork into confidence.
Real-Time Insight into What your Consumers Think and Feel
LifeStars is an engagement engine. You can tap into thousands of real UK consumers and ask:
- What are they buying, and what are they avoiding?
- Why did they choose a competitor over you?
- What matters most in your category – price, ethics, quality, convenience?
“Listening” brands – those that regularly gather and act on customer insight, grow revenue 2.7x faster than those who don’t (Forrester, 2023 UK). These insights don’t sit in a report, they’re live, accessible, and immediately usable by your team.
Access to Competitors’ Customers (Not Just Your Own)
Want to know why shoppers are choosing Sainsbury’s over Tesco? Why someone prefers JD Sports to Footasylum? Or why Pret is stealing loyalty from Costa? We can recruit your competitors’ customers directly using LifeStars Connect. This means you can:
- Track switching behaviour
- Benchmark perception gaps
- Identify white space in the market
- Understand what your non-customers want from you
63% of brand growth in the UK FMCG sector in 2023 came from winning over someone else’s customer, not retention (NielsenIQ). Clearly, as Byron Sharp would claim, growing customer penetration is vital (although we have a soft spot for retention too). Without competitor insight, you’re only seeing half the picture. LifeStars gives you the full view.
Speed, Simplicity, and Always-On Access
In an era where product lifecycles are shrinking and consumer preferences shift weekly, speed is everything.
With LifeStars, brands can:
- Launch pulse surveys in minutes
- Get responses within hours
- Monitor ongoing consumer sentiment in real-time
- Track brand perception weekly – not annually
78% of UK marketing directors say they need “faster insight” to make agile decisions. LifeStars delivers exactly that. Why wait? Get in touch today and let’s get moving.
Engagement That Feeds Loyalty and Growth
Feedback is not just a research tool, it’s a marketing opportunity. UK consumers respond positively when they feel listened to.
- 83% say brands that invite feedback are “more trustworthy”
- 67% say it makes them feel “valued and involved”
- Engaged consumers are 4.5x more likely to recommend the brand (Gallup UK)
LifeStars helps you turn insight collection into a brand experience. You’re not just learning from consumers, you’re building a relationship with them.
Insight That Drives ROI Across Departments
The benefits of using LifeStars go far beyond marketing:
- Product teams use it to shape roadmaps and test ideas pre-launch
- Retail and ops teams use it to optimise store experiences and pricing
- Brand teams use it to validate messaging and emotional resonance
- Leadership teams use it to back decisions with confidence
In short: the whole business gets smarter, faster, and more aligned.
Could the LifeStars research app be too much effort?
It’s new so it will take some effort. That said, we do all the heavy lifting to make it easier for you. However, the salient point here is that for anyone working with customers, 2025 will not be a ‘sit back and count the money rolling in’ kind of year. It’s going to be tough, and we think it’s better to be busy creating growth than spending your days explaining a decline.
The most successful brands in 2025 will be those that:
- Stay close to shifting sentiment
- Move faster than their competitors
- Anticipate needs before they become problems
LifeStars gives your brand certainty which enables speed, confidence, and creativity.
Real-time insight isn’t a luxury. It’s now a business necessity.
Remove the Guesswork, Reclaim the Growth
In an age of economic instability and consumer unpredictability, LifeStars helps businesses rediscover clarity and connection.
It’s about:
- Replacing hunches with hard data
- Seeing around corners before your competitors
- Building loyalty through conversation
- And unlocking growth through insight
Because when you know more, you do more. And more of the right stuff.
And when you’re closer to your customers, you’re always closer to success.
- Don’t just guess what they want – ask them
- Don’t just monitor your own brand – watch the whole market
- Don’t wait for quarterly reviews – act in real-time
Oh, and did anyone else read that Donald Trump has said he plans to run for a third term? He claims he has “ways of making it happen”. Who would bet against him?
At LifeStars, we understand how critical customer closeness is in terms of reducing brand uncertainty. Our platform provides always-on fully incentivised research that makes it easy to engage with customers and colleagues, ensuring you stay ahead of the curve. Talk to us about how we can help you implement a LifeStars system quickly and easily, to put you ahead of the pack in terms of customer retention and brand growth.
