Disrespect and discrimination make half of Brazilians stop buying a product, says research

Have you ever stopped buying a product from a store or from a brand involved in an episode of discrimination? If the answer is yes, you are part of the 47% of Brazilians who have taken the same stance. Whether involving a real case, such as an attitude of prejudice against a customer, or even a controversial attitude by a brand on a social network, the fact is that cases such as racism, homophobia and other types of prejudice have directly affected consumer behavior.

Declared political positions and issues related to compliance — which is a company’s set of practices that keep it in compliance with regulations and laws — have also had a strong influence on consumer choice. This is what the research “Brand reputation: what drives Brazilians’ behavior” shows, carried out by Nexus.

One of the data collected reveals that 59% of those interviewed have already boycotted a company or product that was not politically aligned with their own ideals, as explained by André Jacomo, Research Director at Nexus.

“This means that 6 out of 10 consumers have already retaliated against brands by stopping consuming products or services, due to mistakes made by executives or even by the companies themselves. It may have been an unfortunate statement, a mistaken post on social media. This shows how much the reputation of brands and companies needs to be taken care of every day with planning and coherence, otherwise the impact on the organization’s cash flow can be brutal.”

The importance of reputation

The research also showed that other reasons lead a consumer not to buy products, as in the case of brands that are accused of corruption and fraud — 42%; that cause negative environmental impact — 32%; or even whose executives have different political views than the consumer — 26%.

For the postgraduate professor in Intelligent Marketing and Customer Relationship Management at Senac EAD, Alessandro Mancio de Camargo, there is an awareness, an increasing cultural sensitivity on the part of consumers.

“They are sensitive to the attitudes that brands take, for example, in relation to values ​​that do not respect diversity and are discriminatory. Therefore, purchasing decisions are increasingly aligned with consumers’ personal values. If a brand is perceived as discriminatory and disrespectful, the decision not to buy its products actually becomes a form of protest on the part of the consumer market.”

Digital and real cancellation

Another worrying fact for brands revealed by the research is that, in addition to failing to buy products or services, many of those interviewed admitted to having already “cancelled” a company in the digital environment. What the study shows is that 19% of Brazilians boycotted consumption and even spoke negatively about brands online — including social networks and websites.

At least 40% of Brazilians, influenced by negative news, stopped following a brand. And 24% of those who responded to the survey said they had already written negative reviews on websites (18%); shared negative content about a brand (13%) and posted this type of content on their networks (11%).

Cancel culture

Cancel culture is a social phenomenon in which people, brands or institutions are “cancelled” or boycotted publicly — usually on social media — for actions or statements considered offensive, problematic or unacceptable. Cancellation that could result in the loss of followers, a ruined reputation or even dismissal.

This concept emerged amid the increase in activism — the so-called woke culture — where people quickly mobilize to criticize behaviors considered inappropriate, such as racism, sexism and homophobia.

Although cancel culture can be seen as a form of accountability, it also generates debates about limits, freedom of expression and the effectiveness of these actions, with critics pointing out that it can lead to excesses, such as a lack of space for regret or dialogue.

About the search

For the research, 2,006 Brazilians aged 16 and over were interviewed in person, from all Federation Units, between September 23 and 30, 2024. The sample is representative of the Brazilian population aged 16 and over, with a margin of error of 2 percentage points and 95% confidence.