Top Trends 2026: Southeast Leads Nigeria At 8.0% As B2B Buyers Prove Twice As Conscious As Consumers

…As Tax Policy Reforms Force Complete Overhaul of Pricing Strategies Across Market

Brands face an imperative to completely rethink their pricing strategies as tax policy reforms and shifting economic realities fundamentally alter consumer price preferences across all segments, according to the second major trend unveiled recently at the Top Trends 2026 event held in Lagos recently.

The Price Sensitivity Survey 2025, presented by Professor Uchenna Uzo, professor of Marketing t the Lagos Business School (, Pan Atlantic University (PAU) at the Marriott Hotel, Ikeja, reveals dramatic variations in price consciousness across regions, income levels, and customer segments, variations that demand sophisticated, data-driven pricing approaches rather than one-size-fits-all strategies.

The Southeast emerged as Nigeria’s most price-sensitive region with a score of 8.0%, followed by the Southwest at 7.2% and the North Central at 6.9%. These regional differences reflect varying economic pressures, local market dynamics, and cultural attitudes toward spending and value.

“What we’re seeing is not uniform price sensitivity but a complex mosaic of regional purchasing behaviours,” he explained. “A pricing strategy that works in Lagos may fail catastrophically in Enugu or Abuja. Brands must develop localized pricing intelligence.”

The South South region, while not leading in price sensitivity, still showed a good price consciousness, indicating that economic pressures are affecting consumer behaviour nationwide regardless of local resource endowments or economic activities.

Perhaps most striking is the revelation that Business-to-Business (B2B) customers demonstrate price sensitivity rates of 46%, which is more than double the 21% recorded among Business-to-Consumer (B2C) buyers. This finding upends conventional assumptions about business purchasing behaviour and suggests that corporate buyers are feeling intense pressure to optimize costs amid Nigeria’s evolving tax landscape.

“B2B buyers are conducting deeper value analyses, demanding detailed cost justifications, and increasingly willing to switch suppliers based on price differentials,” he further noted. “The days of relationship-based B2B pricing without rigorous value demonstration are over.”

Upper Class Most Price-Conscious

In a counterintuitive finding, the upper-income segment emerged as the most price-sensitive demographic at 7.3%, surpassing both mid-income consumers at 6.9% and low-income buyers at 6.2%.This “income paradox” suggests that wealthy Nigerians, rather than being indifferent to price, are actually more sophisticated in their value assessments and more willing to seek alternatives when they perceive pricing as unfair or unjustified. Their price consciousness may reflect greater financial literacy, access to information about competitive offerings, and confidence in their ability to negotiate or switch brands.

Mid-income consumers, squeezed by inflation and stagnant wage growth, show the second-highest price sensitivity, while low-income buyers, despite facing the most severe budget constraints, show slightly lower price sensitivity, possibly due to limited alternatives or reduced mobility between brands in their accessible price ranges.

Tax Policy as Market Disruptor, “Plan Now Buy Later” to the rescue?

Nigeria’s new tax policy is the single most important factor reshaping pricing dynamics across all customer segments. The research indicates that tax reforms will fundamentally change buying habits, with the most pronounced impacts on B2C transactions that involve multiple stakeholders and compressed decision timelines.

The tax policy’s influence extends beyond direct price increases to affect consumer psychology, purchase planning, and willingness to commit to major expenditures. Brands that fail to account for this psychological dimension risk miscalibrating their pricing strategies.

Significantly, 72% of consumers reported heightened caution on Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) arrangements in response to tax policy changes, with only 12% expressing increased comfort with such financing options. A mere 6% reported no change in their BNPL behavior.

The research identifies three critical strategic imperatives for navigating this new pricing landscape. First is that brands must develop new frameworks for communicating value that acknowledge tax impacts, justify price points with transparent cost breakdowns, and help customers understand total cost of ownership rather than just sticker prices.

Secondly, as consumers and businesses adapt to new economic realities, innovative pricing models are emerging. These include flexible payment terms, value-based pricing tied to measurable outcomes, dynamic pricing that responds to real-time demand and ability to pay, and bundling strategies that create perceived value while managing price sensitivity.

The research highlights “Plan Now Buy Later” as an innovative case study, a reversal of the traditional BNPL model that allows customers to plan and budget for future purchases while locking in current prices, providing psychological security in an inflationary environment.

The research also highlighted that successful navigation of the new pricing landscape requires attention to three interconnected dimensions: Understanding how tax policy and economic pressures have altered the psychological framework through which customers evaluate prices. This includes recognizing heightened anxiety about future purchasing power, increased skepticism about value claims, and growing demand for pricing transparency.

Secondly, developing granular understanding of price sensitivity variations across regions, customer segments, product categories, and purchase contexts. Generic pricing strategies will fail; success requires sophisticated segmentation and localization.

Lastly, recognizing that “value” now encompasses far more than price-to-quality ratios. It includes payment flexibility, transparency, ethical sourcing, customer service quality, and brand alignment with customer values, all factors that can justify premium pricing when effectively communicated.

Now in its fifth edition, Top Trends continues to provide the data-driven insights that Nigerian marketers need to navigate an increasingly complex and dynamic consumer landscape. This year’s edition themed “Insight-Driven Decisions to Disrupt the Marketing Industry in 2026” brought together industry leaders, marketers, and brand strategists to explore the forces reshaping consumer engagement and brand strategy.

The platform, founded by mediaReach OMD in partnership with Lagos Business School, Pan-Atlantic University, GeoPoll, and the National Institute of Marketing of Nigeria (NIMN), has established itself as Nigeria’s premier marketing thought leadership forum.