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The American automotive landscape is undergoing unprecedented disruption — and so are the people navigating it. A new Ipsos panel offers real-time insight into what U.S. auto buyers value and how they make decisions.
How Auto Insiders captures the shifting mindset of American auto buyers
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As America approaches its 250th anniversary, brands face a fundamental challenge: There is no single American consumer to target.
How qualitative research brings clarity to the complexity of U.S. consumers
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Not every research question requires the same approach. Understanding which Ipsos solution fits your project is the first step toward insights on citizens and consumers that you can act on.
How to choose the right Ipsos research solution
Americans are ready to unite around American businesses — if they can meet the moment. Ipsos can help.
How Ipsos helps American brands win carts and minds
Explore our solutions
Real insights lead to real results. Here’s how.
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Ipsos’ People Segmentation and Slice Segmentation solutions empower brands to fine-tune their reach, sharpen their messaging, and meet consumer expectations head-on.
How smarter segmentation inspires real consumer connections
Michael Gunnels
President, Total Operations, North America
Michael.Gunnels@Ipsos.com
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Ipsos is trusted by the world’s top organizations and institutions for data on what people think, from national attitudes to niche audiences. We do that with two primary polling solutions — each designed for a distinct set of research needs but held to the same rigorous methodological standards.
Ipsos iSay is an online panel built for speed, scale, and accessibility. With five million members across 50+ global markets, it provides broad access to general audiences at a competitive cost and turnaround, making it the right tool for a range of use cases. Researchers can work independently or alongside Ipsos researchers with the assurance that every response is screened through DataGuard, our proprietary data quality system, which combines AI detection, technical flagging, and human review to eliminate bots and low-quality respondents. iSay can be used with Ipsos’ solutions for rapid-response polling (FastFacts), creative assessment (Creative|Spark), concept testing (InnoTest), brand health tracking (Brand Health Essentials), and much more.
Ipsos KnowledgePanel is trusted by commercial, political, and academic researchers for projects where the findings will be published nationally, used to drive major strategic directions, or focused on the attitudes and behaviors of demographic subgroups. The probability-based panel of approximately 60,000 active U.S. members is recruited through address-based sampling (ABS) — ensuring that the data is representative of the American public and free from self-selection bias. This methodological rigor has made KnowledgePanel the panel of choice for projects where accuracy is critical, from CDC policy research to Pulitzer-winning journalistic investigations.
And for projects that require respondents from truly niche industries, audiences, or demographics, Ipsos provides custom sample solutions with an intensely vetted network of third-party providers — ensuring exceptional data quality and bringing you the insights you need to act with confidence.
How to choose the right Ipsos polling solution
Alexandra Stiver
Senior Director, Ethnography Center of Excellence
Alexandra.Stiver@Ipsos.com
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“Buy American,” trust in U.S. products, and even what it means to be American are no longer shared ideas: They’re shaped by generation, geography, culture, and financial reality.
The problem? Too often, brands flatten that complexity.
Ipsos qualitative research helps decision-makers look beyond surface-level data to understand the diversity of American experiences driving behavior. Through ethnography and in-depth qualitative work, we uncover the real time, in-context lived experiences behind the data — revealing not just what consumers say, but how they navigate identity, aspiration, trade-offs, and constraints in their everyday choices.
In a market this fragmented, surface-level understanding leads to blunt strategies and out-of-touch communications. Ipsos qualitative research gives brands the clarity to act with precision, grounded in how Americans actually live, not how we assume they do.
How qualitative research brings clarity to the complexity of U.S. consumers
Graham Gordon
Director, Automotive and Mobility Development
Graham.Gordon@Ipsos.com
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250 years on from American independence and a century on from the Model T, the forces shaping car-buying decisions have never been more complex. EVs vs. gas, domestic vs. international, dealerships vs. direct-to-consumer. Today's auto buyers are weighing trade-offs their parents never faced, and their attitudes are shifting rapidly across generations, regions, and budgets.
Manufacturers and dealers need up-to-the-moment insights into this evolving buyer mindset — what's driving confidence, hesitation, loyalty, and defection in a market that's being reshaped in real time. Auto Insiders, a new research panel from Ipsos, delivers those insights in ways traditional research simply can't.
Auto Insiders draws on Ipsos’ New Vehicle Customer Study — the largest and longest-running syndicated automotive program in North America, with approximately 200k respondents per year and 1,000 data points per respondent — and turns that foundation into an always-ready panel, offering:
Speed without compromise: No lengthy screeners. All respondents are pre-vetted, qualified, and profiled before a single question is asked.
Granular targeting: Reach niche groups that were previously infeasible and act on industry news faster than ever before.
Full methodology toolkit: Quant surveys, qual deep dives, AI-moderated discussions, video diaries, live chats, and more, all on one platform.
How Auto Insiders captures the shifting mindset of American auto buyers
Natalie Kinney
Executive Vice President, Market Strategy and Understanding
Natalie.Kinney@Ipsos.com
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American shoppers are more diverse, dynamic, and discerning than ever. To connect authentically in this new era, brands must move beyond broad demographics and understand the context shaping consumer decisions and the needs driving their choices.
Ipsos’ People Segmentation solution delivers the market intelligence you need to uncover what consumers say, think, and do — revealing who they truly are, the contexts in which they make decisions, and the underlying needs that motivate their behavior. This foundational understanding empowers you to reach the right people with the right message at the right moment.
And as brands are challenged to do more with less, Ipsos Slice Segmentation offers an agile alternative purpose-built for tight timelines and lean budgets with segment sizing, profiles, and optional typing tools—empowering brands to understand their consumers’ identities, priorities, and motivations.
Together, these solutions answer the questions that matter:
Who should we target? Identify distinct consumer segments, uncover how their motivations and behaviors differ, and pinpoint your highest-value audiences.
How do we increase marketing ROI? Tailor communications to key segments with precision, ensuring every message resonates and every dollar works harder.
What drives brand relevance? Develop strategies that make your brand indispensable across segments and need states—turning consideration into choice.
Backed by leading-edge data science and predictive modeling, we embed insights across your organization to drive action. America is evolving. Your targeting strategy should too.
How smarter segmentation inspires real consumer connections
Anne Mitchell
Senior Vice President, Corporate Reputation
Anne.Mitchell@Ipsos.com
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Stakeholder expectations have always been plural, but the current environment has sharpened the contradictions considerably. A position that resonates with one audience can alienate another with striking speed, and the reputational consequences arrive faster than most monitoring systems are built to detect.
Understanding what stakeholders genuinely value and mapping to where the organization has authority, credibility and ability to make a real impact is the foundation of effective reputation management. Where real alignment exists between business purpose and community concerns, communications grounded in that alignment do more than protect.
Ipsos research shows that for every point of trust gained, companies see measurable gains in marketing efficiency, purchase intent and loyalty. In a moment this charged, reputation is not only a defensive necessity, but a true competitive advantage.
How to monitor corporate reputation in a shifting landscape
Philip Ryan, Managing Partner
Ipsos Strategy3
Philip.Ryan@Ipsos.com
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The classic argument for evolving your brand strategy is that it will help you weather disruptions and meet the evolving needs of consumers — but without foresight, brands can miss the forest for the trees. There are bigger shifts and wildcards to account for, without which a brand can risk losing its cultural connection with a changing audience right when they need them the most.
A future-focused brand and portfolio strategy also comes with immediate benefits. By aligning with shifting priorities today, companies gain a significant edge in message resonance and consumer loyalty—with the biggest gains coming from brands that successfully bridge generational and ideological divides.
Ipsos Strategy3 is a leader in blending brand strategy and foresight to help you navigate a fragmented landscape. Our unique framework decodes shifting consumer priorities and maps future societal trends, empowering you to build resilient, future-proofed brand strategies that resonate deeply today, while establishing a firm foundation for tomorrow.
How brands can navigate the shifting values of America at 250
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Influentials shape the cultural norms and expectations that others follow — but they’re not a monolith.
Why understanding success starts with understanding Global Influentials
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As the meaning and timing of car ownership evolve, auto brands need to know who their customers are.
For Americans, car ownership is an attainable marker of success. Here’s why that matters for brands
The American brands and institutions help their customers succeed will succeed along with them. Ipsos can help.
Ipsos insights help brands (and their consumers) succeed
Lisa Zielinski
Senior Vice President, Ipsos Creative Excellence
Lisa.Zielinski@Ipsos.com
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When you think of brands tapping into Americana, it’s easy to picture the stereotypical sea of red, white, and blue, waving flags, soaring eagles, summer cookouts and backyard fireworks. But to truly cut through the noise, you must shift away from surface-level patriotic signaling toward something deeply rooted and authentically connected to your brand identity.
A standout example is Ram’s “In Loud We Trust” campaign. Instead of relying on generic montages, they used bold, long-form storytelling, a triumphant ‘on brand’ tone, and a celebrity partnership to turn patriotism into an ownable brand statement – leading to a Creative Effectiveness Index in the top 5% of the Ipsos database.
Beyond the stereotype: How true authenticity wins in Americana advertising
Graham Gordon
Director, Automotive and Mobility Development
Graham.Gordon@Ipsos.com
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Ipsos’ Future of Success Survey finds that 80% of Americans think owning a car or vehicle is important to feeling successful in life. But what makes this measure of success different from other traditional accomplishments, like home ownership or a high-powered career, is that Americans believe vehicle ownership is within their reach.
According to Ipsos’ Future of Success study, 72% of Americans say they have been extremely or very successful in owning a car or vehicle — putting it ahead of self-sufficiency (55%), having no debt (51%) and even being healthy (46%).
So while the path to success is happening on a different timeline or sequence, owning a vehicle is the most achievable of Americans’ top goals for success. The challenge for automakers is this path is less predictable than in the past: When people form a household, their caregiving responsibilities, work arrangements or financial confidence shape their auto needs as much as their age or generation.
This means automotive brands need a fuller perspective on who their consumers are, where they are in life and what role a vehicle plays in helping them achieve their goals. Whether it’s a minivan for the growing family, a capable pickup truck for the DIY handyman, or a starter car for a first taste of autonomy at 16, the meaning and timing of ownership are evolving.
Ipsos’ Automotive and Mobility Development (AMD) team helps brands understand these markers of success, the life transitions that drive purchasing decisions and the emerging customer needs that traditional demographic models can miss.
For Americans, car ownership is an attainable marker of success. Here’s why that matters for brands
Justin Laborde, PhD
Vice President, Ipsos Syndicated Solutions Group
Justin.Laborde@Ipsos.com
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High-income individuals (what Ipsos calls “Influentials”) are leaders in consumer spending. They’re also early adopters of emerging trends and attitudes, both in the U.S. and in the world at large. In a world characterized by geopolitical tensions, economic uncertainty and rapid technological transformations, understanding the behaviors and motivations of these consumers — and how their views on success influence those of the general public — has never been more important.
But for all these similarities, American Influentials are not a monolith, and do not all view success the same way. For some, success is about safety and stability amid uncertainty. Others see success as being about growth and prestige. Tomorrow’s brands will be asked to deliver products, services and experiences that deliver both security and status.
The IGI (Ipsos Global Influentials) survey gives decision-makers the insights they need to do this. Representing 322 million influential adults from households in the top 20% of income across 43 markets, the survey samples over 23,000 high-earners in the U.S. (of which 6,500 are business leaders). That coverage provides valuable data into their demographics, media usage, shopping intent, advertising engagement, travel desires, technology needs, financial attitudes, and more.
Because Influentials shape the cultural norms and expectations that others follow, their evolving attitudes on success offer an early signal of how the broader public will think, feel and shop in the years to come. Whether through syndicated surveys or bespoke research, IGI shows business leaders what success means to the people redefining it today, and to the people who will be influenced by those views tomorrow.
Why understanding success starts with understanding Global Influentials
For generations, the American timeline of success followed a predictable script: graduate, get a job, buy a house and start a family. Each milestone shaped how people spent and saved. Today, that formula feels far less certain, and many Americans are falling short of their most important goals.
Read Insights to Activate: Brand America 250
Panelists
Vice President, Strategy, Insights Analytics
Alec Tyson
Senior Vice President, Corporate Reputation
Anne Mitchell
Global Head of Service Lines, Market and Brand
Chris Murphy
Vice President, Marketing
Ben Meyerson
Read What the Future: Success
For generations, the American timeline of success followed a predictable script: graduate, get a job, buy a house and start a family. Each milestone shaped how people spent and saved. Today, that formula feels far less certain, and many Americans are falling short of their most important goals.
As generational cohorts and life stage effects intersect in new and complex ways — with 42% of Americans seeing new paths to success, according to Ipsos’ What the Future: Success issue — brands without trustworthy data risk losing sight of what Americans want and need, today and tomorrow.
The path to success in the U.S. has changed. As the nation celebrates its 250th anniversary, American brands will need to understand “modern milestones” and common values to connect with consumers.
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Source: Ipsos Future of Success survey, conducted June 4-5, 2026, among 1,112 U.S. adults.
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By harnessing the power of future self-continuity, brands can improve outcomes for themselves and their customers.
How behavioral science helps consumers and brands win the long game
14%
of U.S. adults think the traditional American path to success (e.g., getting a college degree, climbing the corporate ladder, buying a house) is the most reliable path to achieving success and financial stability.
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Watch Insights to Activate: Brand America 250
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So, if age alone no longer tells brands what people need, what does? Americans’ timelines for success (and the paths they take to get there) are changing. Views on national identity are shifting, too: Majorities of Gen Z and Millennial Americans (58%) now say that being an American is not something they think about much.
What has held steady is the fundamental aspirations behind the American Dream. Two in three Americans (63%) still say “trying to get ahead through one’s own efforts” is important to being an American, according to Insights to Activate: Brand America 250. Gen Z and Millennial Americans are actually more likely than older generations to identify marriage or a full-time job with success, according to the 2026 Ipsos Generations Report.
And Americans still think U.S. brands have a role to play in their path to get there. 65% of Americans think American-made products are better quality, and 59% of Gen Z Americans say the country’s success is tied to the success of American businesses.
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America’s 250th anniversary arrives at a moment of profound sociopolitical realignment — and organizations that haven't mapped what their stakeholders actually expect are navigating without a compass.
How to monitor corporate reputation in a shifting landscape
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Foresight gives brands an advantage when adapting to generational shifts, protecting market relevance, and transforming changing consumer values into growth opportunities.
How brands can navigate the shifting values of America at 250
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To tap into Americana effectively, ads need an authentic connection to brand identity.
Beyond the stereotype: How true authenticity wins in Americana advertising
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Americans say their idea of success goes beyond hustle culture. To connect with consumers, brands should recognize their broader aspirations and help them overcome barriers.
Americans are caught between stress and success. Here’s how brands fit in.
Greg Gwiasda, Ph.D.
Senior Vice President, Ipsos Behavioral Science Center
Greg.Gwiasda@Ipsos.com
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From homeownership to marriage to retirement, many Americans are reaching traditional milestones later in life. This means some face an escalating behavioral challenge: hyperbolic discounting, the cognitive bias where we disproportionately value smaller, immediate rewards over larger, delayed payouts. When long-term goals feel distant, our brains overvalue present gratification, making it harder to stay committed to long-term financial, health, or personal aspirations.
While behavioral science identifies this challenge, it also provides the tool to bridge the gap: future-self continuity. Ipsos research shows that prompting consumers to vividly connect with their future selves — such as writing a letter to their future self about how they reached a goal — dramatically increases decisions with long-term payouts, like boosting retirement contributions.
This principle can be put to action in different ways across sectors and industries:
Bring the future closer: Use immersive tools, visualization, or progress trackers that make distant goals feel tangible and achievable today.
Keep progress top-of-mind: Design product milestones that acknowledge incremental progress, reinforcing smart present behaviors that fuel long-term success.
Position as a long-term partner: Help consumers see how present choices enrich—rather than deprive—their future self.
By harnessing the power of future self-continuity and ensuring that their marketing, communications, user experiences, and product design are informed by BeSci best practices, brands can improve outcomes for themselves and their customers.
How behavioral science helps consumers and brands win the long game
Research Lead
Mia Silverio
Director
Diana Wu David
Editor in Chief
Jason Feifer
What the Future Editor
Matt Carmichael
Jennifer Torgersen Vice President, Ipsos Online Communities
Jennifer.Torgersen@Ipsos.com
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While generic communications sometimes treat “success” as a synonym for “wealth,” many Americans say health, family, and personal stability also contribute to their idea of success, according to a May-June 2026 Ipsos Online Community discussion. But that same discussion surfaced a number of economic barriers between Americans and personal success, including a lack of free time, economic stress, and mental load.
The brands that exclusively speak to status or wealth in their messaging risk missing the emotional core of how people measure a “good life.” But those that draw on insights from vetted members of online communities have the opportunity to take a more active role in meeting this desire for simplicity — whether by building “set-and-forget” experiences, or by designing for convenience and cognitive ease. As one consumer put it: "The biggest way a brand could help me achieve success is by offering products and resources that save me time and simplify my life."
By giving Americans a chance to express their lives in their own words and then connecting those insights to their quantitative data or other Ipsos research, Ipsos’ Online Communities team identifies the opportunities for tomorrow’s products and services — and positions brands and institutions to get there first.
Americans are caught between stress and success. Here’s how brands fit in.
The American brands and institutions that seize this opportunity and help their customers succeed will succeed along with them. But to do this, they will need rigorous, representative and reproducible insights that help them earn and retain loyalty against the backdrop of shifting life stages and values. As one of the world’s largest market research companies and the industry’s #1 Most Innovative research firm for three years in a row, Ipsos can help.
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Explore what comes next. As American brands continue to push to lead the world, they must first fight for the loyalty of Americans themselves
Dives into these shifting attitudes, what they mean for business, and how brand leaders can adapt to these evolving benchmarks and understand where consumers are today in order to help them succeed tomorrow.
