Sophie Cork, Senior Strategist at Boutique, explores why Home & Garden brands don’t need to be the cheapest to win, and how brand trust and value shape which brands consumers choose.

This edition of Big Furniture Group’s Marketing Spotlight is brought to you by Boutique. We are an independent marketing agency that has spent over a decade helping Home & Garden brands grow through insight-led strategy and joined-up Media, PR, Digital and Social. Our close relationship with the sector gives us a clear view of how consumers behave, what drives choice and the levers brands can pull to build long-term value.

Across the Home & Garden sector, one challenge comes up time and again: how do you compete when you cannot, or choose not to, be the cheapest option on the market? Whether it is the rise of international retailers, increased production costs or a surge in low-priced lookalike products, many brands are operating in a tougher price environment. With consumers more considered than ever, it is easy to assume that deeper discounts or more frequent promotions are the only way to stay competitive.

But our research, Changing Rooms, Changing Minds, tells a different story altogether. If anything, it shows that racing to the bottom on price is not only unnecessary, but actively risks weakening the very thing consumers want most from the brands they choose.

What our findings show clearly is that the battle isn’t won by being the cheapest, but by being the brand that feels like the smartest choice.

Home Reports From Our Marketing Agency in Leeds – Boutique – are here: https://weareboutique.co.uk/home-reports/

What Consumers Actually Value

Across a nationally representative survey of 600 home improvers, our research showed that value for money emerged as the single most important factor driving brand choice, with 88% of consumers ranking it at the top of their list. Crucially, this does not mean cheap. In fact, being the cheapest option came much lower at just 44%. Consumers are actively rejecting purely budget-driven decisions in favour of products that balance affordability with quality, durability and long-term usefulness.

This is the heart of the price–quality trade-off: people want reassurance that what they are buying will last. They will happily pay more for something that feels like the right investment, but they need confidence to justify it.

What Matters Beyond Price: The Signals That Build Trust

If brands cannot compete on price, they need to compete on trust, authority and clarity of proposition. Our research points to three signals that shape perceived value:

Quality cues
From durability claims to materials, from photography to product storytelling, every detail influences the sense that a product is worth the investment. This is especially important in categories where consumers need reassurance before committing.

Visibility at the right moment
Online search is the number one discovery channel across all demographics, used by 36% of consumers when researching products. If brands want to be considered, they need to show up early, consistently and confidently in the spaces where decisions begin.

Consistency across digital and physical touchpoints
While discovery starts online, physical stores remain the most influential channel when it comes to final decision making. Brands that bridge this online-to-offline gap with consistent quality messages build stronger trust and convert more effectively.

Trust is not built through price cuts; it is built through repeated, coherent signals that reinforce the value of choosing you.

Brand Building Is the Biggest Competitive Lever You Have

One standout finding in the research is that many consumers enter the market without fixed brands in mind. Over half begin their journey exploring broadly, but 32% still look first to familiar brands because they trust what they know.

This is where many mid-market brands underestimate their opportunity. If you are not the cheapest, your competitive advantage comes from shaping preference well before people start comparing prices.

The brands that win are the brands that feel known, reliable and established. They are visible in the early stages, consistent across channels and present in the real world where buyers go to feel confident in their choices.

The Takeaway: Invest in Understanding Your Audience, Then Invest in Your Brand

If there is one message we would emphasise to Home and Garden brands right now, it is this:

You do not need to be the cheapest to win. But you do need to be the brand that consumers believe offers the best value for money.

And that belief is built through:

• Understanding your audience’s category-specific needs
 • Showing up early, helpfully and consistently
 • Demonstrating quality and durability
 • Creating confidence at every step of the journey

Audience insight gives you the map. Brand building gives you the momentum. Together, they give you the ability to compete on something far more powerful than price: trust.

Brands that shift from chasing discounts to strengthening value perception will not only withstand a price-led marketplace. They will stand out in it.

Save The Date

Our annual Home & Garden conference will be returning to Leeds on 18th June 2026. Join peers from the sector for a jam-packed day with speakers, panellists and fire-side chats all focused around the Home & Garden sector. This event has sold out for the past 3 years – get your early bird tickets now!

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-home-garden-conference-tickets-1656695493819?aff=oddtdtcreator