As inflation lingers and consumer demand flattens, FMCG firms are returning to a familiar strategy: sharpen the offer, double down on loyalty, and stay close to the customers that matter most.
In this Telerivet article, we’ll cover a winning playbook that is driving high ROI for a series of global consumer brands and smaller players:
This isn’t a recession in the traditional sense. But it’s not a boom either.
Inflation, still echoing from the post-COVID spike, has kept prices high and signs now point to the possibility of another upward swing.
In the US, topline indicators have looked solid at a glance. But dig deeper and things start to wobble.
Revisions to job reports have painted a softer labor market than originally thought. Strip out the tech giants Wall Street now calls MANGO (Microsoft, Apple, Nvidia, Google, and Oracle) and the stock market has barely moved.
On the ground, consumer behavior is starting to shift. September 2025 figures show that retail spending is flat and unit demand is beginning to slip. People are spending the same amount of money, but they’re buying less.
Add to that the renewed uncertainty in global trade, particularly in US - China relations, and the stage is set for turbulence.
For FMCG brands, this moment isn’t just about watching the macro signals. It’s about responding strategically to subtle changes in how and why consumers spend.
The best operators know that when pressure hits, the simplest plan is to focus. In past downturns, the FMCG brands that came out stronger were often the ones that picked their lane and doubled down.
Walmart did it in the aftermath of the 2008 crash. As consumer budgets tightened, they consolidated their grip on the lower-income segment by leaning into value and simplifying their offer. Rather than chasing premium margins, they won volume and loyalty at scale.
Procter & Gamble did the same during the 1937 downturn, but with a different play. Facing declining demand in core categories, they built new product lines using the byproducts of now less-profitable goods. Ivory Soap was one of them. Rather than exiting, they adapted their portfolio to meet the moment and focused on the customer.
The common thread? Focus.
In both cases, the winners chose who they were building for and served that group even harder. When the middle gets squeezed, smart firms consolidate around the consumers who matter most.
When demand softens, the goal isn’t to win new categories but to defend and deepen your position in the ones you already own. The most effective way to do that is by making your product the one consumers keep reaching for, even as they cut back elsewhere.
Start with offers. Timely promotions and price incentives keep your brand top-of-mind and in the basket.
But the impact multiplies when those offers are tied to loyalty and reward programs - mechanisms that don’t just drive a single purchase, but build long-term preference.
This is also when sharp marketing matters.
The message should be clear, consistent, and focused on the consumer segments that are already working for you. Broad targeting wastes money in a moment like this. Precision builds advantage.
And behind it all, first-party data is what makes the engine run.
Knowing who your customers are, how they engage, and what motivates them means you can make every campaign leaner, faster, and more effective.
When budgets tighten, efficiency becomes a moat.
For brands trying to consolidate during a squeeze, SMS rewards have quietly become one of the most reliable tools in the playbook.
They’re cheap to run, fast to deploy, and reach consumers wherever they are, even without data or apps. They can function like a promotional offer or a loyalty program, depending on what you need.
That flexibility matters.
In markets where connectivity is uneven and devices are mixed, SMS remains a format you can count on to land. With the right setup, campaigns can go live in days - not months - and start generating results almost immediately.
But the real value goes beyond speed. Every redemption is a datapoint.
Over time, SMS reward campaigns build the database that future campaigns rely on.
Beyond a short-term win-now tactic, this is also a scalable way to stay close to your core consumer, gather insight, and reinforce brand preference, even in uncertain conditions. And for FMCG firms with wide distribution and narrow margins, that edge is hard to beat.
Telerivet has become the messaging infrastructure of choice for FMCG brands operating in complex markets.
The platform was built for scale, but it’s the flexibility and speed that matter most when wallets tighten and execution needs to be fast.
In one recent campaign, a major FMCG brand used Telerivet to launch a national SMS rewards program.
Codes were printed inside packaging and consumers could text in to instantly receive mobile data, airtime, or vouchers. No apps, no downloads, no friction.
The results:
Behind the scenes, Telerivet provided the tools to manage delivery, validate redemptions, failover between channels like SMS and Viber, and analyze performance in real time. For this brand, it wasn’t just about rewards but about building a direct, scalable connection to their consumers.