Taste Beats Price in Americans' Soft Drink Choices
Good taste beats low price as the top reason Americans pick a soft drink. 57% name taste as important, versus 37% for price and 30% for availability, per Statista Consumer Insights survey data. Source: Statista.
A new Statista Consumer Insights survey of 1,245 US respondents (ages 18-64, surveyed March-June 2026) finds that taste, not price, remains the deciding factor in soft drink purchases. 57% named good taste as an important criterion, 20 percentage points ahead of low price at 37%. Practical factors follow: 30% cited availability and 29% selection of flavors. Carbonation (26%) and caffeine content (23%) mattered to roughly a quarter of respondents, while brand reputation was named by 28%. Sugar-free or low-sugar options ranked last, cited by just 17%, fewer than 1 in 5. The findings suggest that despite years of elevated inflation and heightened price sensitivity among US consumers, product quality still outweighs cost when it comes to soft drinks. Source: Statista Consumer Insights via Statista.