As companies retreat from their DEI commitments under political pressure, the framing is almost always about avoiding risk. But the data on what actually happens when brands pull back tells a different story: for the audiences who drive a growing share of spending, the retreat itself is the risk.
What pulling back actually costs
When brands scale back their commitments, customers respond with their wallets. Collage Group's 2025 research found that roughly one in three consumers stopped or reduced spending with companies that pulled back on DEI, and the numbers are sharper among the communities most affected.
consumers cut spending with brands pulling back on DEI
of Black & of Hispanic consumers
of LGBTQ+ consumers
These aren't fringe segments reacting at the margins. They are large, fast-growing parts of the market making a deliberate purchasing decision in response to a brand's choices.
The label is volatile; the work is not
The strategic mistake is conflating the DEI label with the underlying work. The label is politically charged right now, and that's why companies are dropping it. But the work it describes, reaching diverse communities, and building products and marketing that genuinely serve them, is still one of the strongest growth opportunities a brand has.
Multicultural consumers account for the majority of recent U.S. spending growth. That audience isn't going anywhere; only the acronym is contested. The brands that quietly keep doing the work, without the performative banner, keep the growth. The ones that abandon the work to protect the optics give it away.
Pulling back isn't neutral. It's a choice your customers notice, and price in.
Why trust is the real exposure
The deeper cost isn't a single quarter of softer sales, it's trust, which is far more expensive to rebuild than to keep. Edelman's research puts brand trust on par with price and quality as a purchase driver: people increasingly buy from companies they believe will do what's right. A visible reversal on a stated commitment spends that trust, and it doesn't come back cheaply.
What to do instead
- Keep the work; drop the performance. Sell the growth and the results, not a volatile label. The audience cares whether you show up, not what you call it.
- Make commitments you can keep. Accountability frameworks and measurable goals beat splashy pledges you may have to walk back.
- Be consistent. Showing up and disappearing erodes trust faster than never showing up. Durability is the signal.
- Measure outcomes, not optics. Participation, behavior, dollars moved, proof you can stand behind in any climate.
Done this way, “doing the right thing” and “doing the profitable thing” stop being in tension. The retreat was never the safe choice. It was the costly one.