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“Made in the USA”? Americans often don’t care

Only 39% of Americans consistently consider where products are made when buying them

In the past year, how often were you aware of which country products were made in before purchasing?

Only 39% of Americans consistently consider where products are made when buying them

Quality vs Price: What Shoppers Truly Value

Why do consumers say they care about values like “Made in USA” but still choose based on price and quality? Bentley University Professor Jeffrey Moriarty breaks down the gap between what people say matters and how they actually make purchasing decisions. Learn what drives buying behavior, the role of price and product quality, and why origin often takes a back seat.

Andy Aylesworth, Professor of Marketing - Bentley UniversityWhen people buy something, they are buying a bundle of benefits. The benefits can be functional and tangible — a hat to keep you warm or a washing machine to give you clean clothes — or intangible — a handbag for prestige or a car for reliability. These results show that the benefit we get from ‘American made’ is outweighed by other tangible and intangible benefits for the majority of buyers." 

Andy Aylesworth
Professor of Marketing
Bentley University

Shelle Santana, Assistant Professor of Marketing - Bentley UniversityAs a marketer, I tend to think about which factors drive purchase decisions and how that might vary by product. Price and quality are consistently important but other factors such as brand, country of origin and prestige can be more or less important, depending on the product. So while only 39% of consumers report consistently considering country of origin, it might be much higher when shopping for certain products like watches (where Swiss-made watches enjoy an advantage) or pick-up trucks (a very American product) but not very important for something like water bottles."

Shelle Santana
Assistant Professor of Marketing
Bentley University

Do Americans Care Where Their Products Are Made?

Of six product types, only groceries are seen by a majority as important to be made in America


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39% of Americans Regularly Notice Where Products Are Made