 | |
| Founded | February 1936; 90 years ago (1936-02) (as Consumers Union) |
|---|---|
| Founders | |
| Type | Nonprofit organization |
| Location |
|
Key people | Phil Radford,President andCEO |
| Revenue | $238 million (2024-2025) |
| Employees | 550+ (2025) |
| Website | www |
Consumer Reports (CR), formerlyConsumers Union (CU), is an American nonprofit nonpartisanconsumer organization dedicated to independentproduct testing and rating,investigative journalism, consumer-oriented research, public education, and consumer advocacy.[1] In 2025,Phil Radford became the organization’spresident andchief executive officer (CEO).[2]
Founded in February 1936, the organization has more than five million members and publishes content through both its website and a magazine, also calledConsumer Reports. These are subscription-based and provide reviews, ratings, recommendations, and advice across a wide range of products and services. The organization has also been included in other digital platforms.[3]
Consumer Reports has a policy of independence, purchasing products anonymously at retail locations, and refusing traditional advertising. Throughout its history, the organization has influenced consumer protection legislation and contributed to product recalls and redesigns.
Founded in 1936, CR was created to serve as a source of information that consumers could use to help assess the safety and performance of products.[4][5] Since that time, CR has continued its testing and analysis of products and services and advocated for the consumer in legislative and rule-making areas.[6] Among the reforms in which CR played a role were the advent ofseat belt laws,[7] exposure of thedangers of cigarettes,[8] and more recently, the enhancement of consumer finance protection, the increase of consumer access to quality health care, and data privacy and security protections.[9][10] Consumer Reports advocacy efforts focus on improving product safety and public health, saving people money, including energy and utilities, and ensuring consumers’ digital privacy and security.[11][12][13][14][15][16]
In 1927,F.J. Schlink andStuart Chase published their best-selling novel,Your Money's Worth, which saw massive readership due to the consumer movement. The demand for brand research led to Schlink to found the companyConsumers' Research in 1927. The company was responsible for publishing Consumers’ Research Bulletin (previously named Consumer Club Commodity List). The subscriber count in 1933 was reported to be over 42,000. It was in this year, that Consumer Research moved its operations to New York City. Following this move, employees began to unionize, citing unfair pay. Schlink proceeded to fire the strikers. The former Consumers' Research employees, teamed up with "journalists, engineers, academics, and scientists" to found the companyConsumers Union—now known as Consumer Reports—in February 1936.[17] Consumers Union differentiated themselves from Consumers' Research by establishing a community amongst readers. Within the overall mission of creating more informed consumers, Consumers Union united with women's clubs and citizen groups, creating a progressive message. Consumers Union would surpass Schlink's Consumers' Research in subscribers by 1940, accumulating a readership of 71,000.[18]
Numerous businesses and corporations set out to suppress the actions of Consumers Union. In an effort to suppress the critiques of Consumers' Union,The New York Herald Tribune established an institute with the goal of demonstrating that the efforts of consumers groups were futile, in that businesses already conducted extensive product-testing.[19]
Additional suppression came later from the House Un-American Activities Committee (created in 1938), which placed Consumers Union on a list of “subversive” organizations.[20] This was because of the organization’s association with labor leaders, and its refusal to use advertising,[21][20] with the latter point seen as a plot against free enterprise. Consumers Union was later removed from the list, and the plot against it instead served to bolster public opinion for Consumers Union.[20][21]
In World War II, Consumers Union took a stance in support of the war effort. They urged their supporters to put aside their personal interest by consuming less, and following the government ordered policies of consumption. They were also critical of businesses who saw the war period as an opportunity to advertise their products and as a result were wasting paper.[22]
In the 1950s, now known as Consumer Reports, the organization conducted reviews of seat belts in cars and showed their importance. They also reported on the dangers of cigarettes.[23][20] The Surgeon General’s 1964 smoking report cited Consumer Reports research.[20]
In 2000, due to years of tests showing that many SUVs were prone to rollovers during sharp turns, Consumer Reports testified before Congress that all cars should undergo a rollover test as part of a national safety testing protocol.[20] A rollover test became part of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s assessment of new cars.[20]
In 2017, Consumer Reports led a consortium that established a Digital Standard benchmark by which digital products could be measured.[10]
The organization has also been involved with other issues, including:
Consumer Reports formerly used a modified form ofHarvey balls for qualitative comparison. The roundideograms were arranged from best to worst. On the left of the diagram, the red circle indicated the highest rating, the half red and white circle was the second highest rating, the white circle was neutral, the half black circle was the second-lowest rating, and the entirely black circle was the lowest rating possible.[40]
As part of a wider rebranding ofConsumer Reports in September 2016, the appearance of the magazine's rating system was significantly revamped. The Harvey balls were replaced with new color-coded circles: green for excellent; lime green for very good; yellow for good; orange for fair; and red for poor. It was stated that this new system will help improve the clarity of ratings tables by using a "universally understood" metaphor.[41][42]
As of 2025, Consumer Reports had published more than 10,000 independent ratings and reviews of products and services.[43]
Consumer Reports’ methods are transparent, allowing both consumers and industry professionals to understand how scores are calculated.[20][44] The organization uses secret shoppers to purchase all rated products at online and retail prices on behalf of the organization.[45][44] They do so anonymously, and CR accepts no free samples in order to limit bias from bribery and to prevent being given better than average samples.[45][46][47]
Once purchased, Consumer Reports has dozens of specialized labs to review everything from exercise equipment to phones and TVs to food.[20] Every purchased product goes through rigorous, standardized tests.[20][44][43] CR also regularly collects data from member surveys, and factors that information into its ratings.[48]
For most ofCR's history, it minimized contact with government and industry experts "to avoid compromising the independence of its judgment".[49] In 2007, in response to errors in infant car seat testing, it began accepting advice from a wide range of experts on designing tests, but not on final assessments.[49] Also, at timesCR allows manufacturers to review and respond to criticism before publication, and implement product changes.[50][20][44] This sometimes leads to redesigns or recalls.[20]
Some objective and comparative tests published byConsumer Reports are carried out under the umbrella of the international consumer organizationInternational Consumer Research & Testing.[51]Consumer Reports also uses outside labs for testing, including for 11 percent of tests in 2006.[49]
Consumer Reports’ independent testing and investigations have led to manufacturer recalls, redesigns, and software fixes. Here are a few examples:
In the July 1978 issue,Consumer Reports rated theDodge Omni/Plymouth Horizon automobile "not acceptable", the first car it had judged such since theAMC Ambassador in 1968. In its testing they found the possibility of these models' developing an oscillatoryyaw as a result of a sudden violent input to the steering; the manufacturer claimed: "Some do, some don't" show this behavior, but it has no "validity in the real world of driving".[52] Nevertheless, the next year,these models included a lighter weight steering wheel rim and a steering damper, andConsumer Reports reported that the previous instability was no longer present.
In a 2003 issue ofCR, the magazine tested theNissan Murano crossover utility vehicle and did not recommend the vehicle because of a problem with its power steering, even though the vehicle had above-average reliability. The specific problem was that the steering would stiffen substantially on hard turning.CR recommended the 2005 model, which had addressed this problem.[citation needed]
BMW changed the software for thestability control in itsX5 SUV after replicating a potential rollover problem discovered during aCR test.[53]
In 2010,CR rated the 2010Lexus GX 460SUV unsafe after the vehicle failed one of the magazine's emergency safety tests.Toyota temporarily suspended sales of the vehicle, and after conducting its own test acknowledged the problem and issued a recall for the vehicle, which later passed aCR re-test.[54]
In May 2018,CR said it could not recommend theTesla Model 3 due to concerns about the car's long stopping distance. Within days, Tesla issued a remote software update.[55]CR retested the car's brakes, then gave the Model 3 a "recommended" rating.[56]
In 2016,CRfound wildly inconsistent battery life in its testing ofApple's 2016MacBook Pro. This led to the discovery of a bug in theSafari web browser, which Apple promptly fixed via a software update.[57]
In 2025, an investigation by Consumer Reports showedInstacart used an AI-driven dynamic pricing experiment to sometimes charge different shoppers different prices for the same items at the same store at the same time.[58] Following public response to the investigation, Instacart ended its AI price-testing program.[59]
Samsung fixed certain smart televisions after Consumer Reports found they could be hacked.[10]
Consumer Reports found security vulnerabilities in video doorbells manufactured by Eken Group Ltd. and sold under various brand names.[60][61] After CR shared its investigation, Eken issued a firmware fix.[62]
In 2019, Fisher-Price recalled all of its Rock ‘n Play sleepers, approximately 4.7 million, after CR published an investigation that found the product was tied to at least 32 infant deaths since 2009.[63][64]
In 2024, Kraft Heinz Lunchables made for U.S. schools were pulled from school lunch programs due to low demand.[65][66] A few months prior, CR had published its investigation into the school Lunchables, sharing that it had found relatively high levels of lead, cadmium, and sodium present.[66][65]
Consumer Reports is well known for its policies oneditorial independence, which it says are to "maintain our independence and impartiality ... [so that] CR has no agenda other than the interests of consumers".[67][50]CR has unusually strict requirements and sometimes has taken extraordinary steps; for example it declined to renew a car dealership's bulk subscription because of "the appearance of an impropriety".[68]
Consumer Reports does not allow outside advertising because it does not want to compromise its objectivity.[67][50][69][70][48] The organization receives funding in other ways, namely from paid memberships,[50][44] grants,[48][71][72] donations,[10] affiliate links,[48] and through its commercial licensing program.[73][74][75]
 Consumer Reportscover dated November 2016 | |
| Editor-in-Chief | Ellen Kunes, Editorial Director, Digital & Print |
|---|---|
| Categories | Consumer advocacy |
| Frequency | Monthly |
| Circulation | 3,800,000 |
| Publisher | Consumer Reports |
| First issue | May 1936; 89 years ago (1936-05)[76] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Website | www |
| ISSN | 0010-7174 |
Consumer Reports publishes content through its digital platforms and produces a print magazine.[77] These publications both provide consumers with product advice (the results of CR’s rigorous ratings work), as well as investigative reporting.[69][77][78] Additionally, through its website, CR provides ratings and reviews for thousands products and services.[78] It also provides recall information and video demonstrations.[78][79]
The print magazine has been published since May 1936.[20] Its first cover story was a report on the difference between Grade A and Grade B milk. Consumer Reports’ researchers found the two types of milk to be identical, and therefore did not recommend consumers spend more buying Grade A milk.[20]
In 1990, Consumer Reports launchedConsumer Reports Television.[80] Like the rest of CR’s services, Consumer Reports TV accepts no advertising.[80] It produces monthly news reports as well as specials, such as, "Buy Me That," from 1989, which discussed how TV advertising can mislead children.[80] As of 2025, Consumer Reports produces its own podcasts in addition to videos for local broadcast and Telemundo stations.[44] Digital content is also shared across the organization’s website, Amazon, Apple TV, MSN.com, and social media channels, including YouTube.[44]
Over the years, Consumer Reports has published its content on other sites/platforms, including:
On August 1, 2006, Consumer Reports launchedShopSmart,[83] a magazine aimed at young women.[84] The magazine’s last issue was produced in August/September 2015.[85]
In 2008, Consumer Reports acquiredThe Consumerist blog fromGawker Media.[86] It was shuttered in 2017, and its content folded into the Consumer Reports website.[87]
Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs is available free on Consumer Reports Health.org. It compares prescription drugs in over 20 major categories, such as heart disease, blood pressure and diabetes, and gives comparative ratings of effectiveness and costs, in reports and tables, in web pages and PDF documents, in summary and detailed form.[88]
Consumer Reports published a kids' version ofConsumer Reports calledPenny Power in 1980, later changed in August 1990 toZillions.[89] This publication was similar toConsumer Reports but served a younger audience. At its peak, the magazine covered close to 350,000 subscribers.[90] It gave children financial advice for budgeting their allowances and saving for a big purchase, reviewed kid-oriented consumer products (e.g., toys, clothes, electronics, food, videogames, etc.), and generally promoted smartconsumerism in kids and teens; reviews of products came from kids of the age range a product was targeted toward. It also taught kids about deceitful marketing practices practiced by advertising agencies. The magazine folded in 2000.[91]
In 2001, Consumer Reports launched the grant-funded projectConsumer Reports WebWatch, which aimed to educate consumers about online scams and other dangers.[92] WebWatch was backed by The Pew Charitable Trusts, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, and the Open Society Institute.[92] In 2009, WebWatch was shut down.[92]
Consumer Reports advocates for and with consumers and offers paid memberships to those who want access to its printed and digital publications.[50][44] CR’s more than 5 million members have access to online tools like a car recall tracker and personalized content.[48][20][78][79]
Consumer Reports occasionally receives grants from other organizations to be used toward specific research projects. For example, in 2012, the Pew Charitable Trust provided Consumer Reports with a grant so the organization could examine food for carcinogens, heavy metal contamination, and pathogens.[48][72]
In 2021, the organization received a $375,000 grant from an environmental group, the Climate Imperative Foundation, to examine gas stoves and indoor air quality.[48][71] After completing its study, Consumer Reports published an article entitled "Is Your Gas Range a Health Risk?"[93] published on October 4, 2022.[48] The organization included a note that the study was funded in part by a grant from the Climate Imperative Foundation. Other organizations that have provided grants include the Hewlett Foundation and the Ford Foundation.[94][95] Ford has provided grants totaling more than $1 million in recent years.[96]
Consumer Reports receives donations from individuals and organizations to fund various projects.[10][97] In June 2019, Craig Newmark’s foundation, Craig Newmark Philanthropies, gave the organization $6 million to test internet-connected products for data privacy and security.[10] This is done through the organization’s Innovation Lab.[10][98]
Another donor is the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, which donated to Consumer Reports’ Digital Standard project.[99] This project created a set of digital rights and protections for which to evaluate manufacturers and advocate for consumer protections.[99]
Consumer Reports does not accept advertising from retailers or manufacturers, but it does use third-party affiliate links throughout its work.[48] In this way, the organization can earn money without being incentivized to recommend a certain product.[48]
Consumer Reports was an early adopter of affiliate networks.[100] The nonprofit’s website uses affiliate links in its articles for various brands, models, product types, and categories.[48]
Brands that have been rated and reviewed by Consumer Reports may pay to license CR content, however, they may not alter or excerpt the content, but must use it in its entirety.[73] This means that brands must share with consumers any negative shortcomings alongside successes.[73]
Consumer Reports has been sued several times by companies unhappy with reviews of their products, but has never lost a case.[20][101][102]
In 1971,Bose Corporation suedConsumer Reports (CR) for libel afterCR reported in a review that the sound from the system it reviewed "tended to wander about the room".[103] The case eventually reached theUnited States Supreme Court, which affirmed inBose Corp. v. Consumers Union of United States, Inc. thatCR's statement was made withoutactual malice and therefore was not libelous.[104][105][106]
In 1988,Consumer Reports announced during a press conference that theSuzuki Samurai had demonstrated a tendency to roll and deemed it "not acceptable". Suzuki sued in 1996 after the Samurai was again mentioned in aCR anniversary issue. In July 2004, after eight years in court, the suit wassettled and dismissed with no money changing hands and no retraction issued, butConsumers Union did agree to no longer refer to the 16-year-old test results of the 1988 Samurai in its advertising or promotional materials.[107]
In December 1997, theIsuzu Trooper distributor inPuerto Rico suedCR, alleging that it had lost sales as a result of disparagement of the Trooper by the Consumers Union of the United States (CU). A trial court granted the motion forsummary judgment by the CU, and theU.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit affirmed the favorable judgment.[108]
In 2003,Sharper Image suedCR inCalifornia for product disparagement over negative reviews of its Ionic Breeze Quadraair purifier.CR moved for dismissal on October 31, 2003, and the case was dismissed in November 2004. The decision also awardedCR $525,000 in legal fees and costs.[109][110]
The February 2007 issue ofConsumer Reports stated that only two of the child safety seats it tested for that issue passed the organization's side impact tests.[111][112] TheNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which subsequently retested the seats, found that all those seats passed the corresponding NHTSA tests at the speeds described in the magazine report.[111][112] TheCR article reported that the tests simulated the effects of collisions at 38.5 mph. However, the tests that were completed in fact simulated collisions at 70 mph.[111][112] The tests were run by an outside lab which misinterpreted CR’s request.[49] Because of this, the tests were run as if the struck vehicle moved at 38mph after being struck (which would require it to be hit while driving 70mph), rather than as if it was going 38mph when struck.[80][111][13]
CR retracted its report and sent letters and emails to its millions of subscribers to apologize.[49][111][112] The organization stated in a letter from its president Jim Guest to its subscribers that it would retest the seats.[112] On January 28, 2007,The New York Times published anop-ed fromJoan Claybrook, who served on the board of CR from 1982 to 2006 and was the head of theNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration from 1977 to 1981, where she discussed the sequence of events leading to the publishing of the erroneous information.[13] This included looking at CR’s actions as well as that of the highway safety administration, which, at the time, had not designed a test for side-impact collisions.[13]
In February 1998, the organization testedpet food and claimed thatIams dog food was nutritionally deficient. It later retracted the report claiming that there had been "a systemic error in the measurements of various minerals we tested –potassium,calcium andmagnesium".[113]
In 2006,Consumer Reports said sixhybrid vehicles would probably not save owners money. The organization later discovered that it had miscalculateddepreciation and released an update stating that four of the six vehicles would save the buyers money if the vehicles were kept for five years (and received the federaltax credit for hybrid vehicles, which expired after each manufacturer sold 60,000 hybrid vehicles).[114]
Prominent consumer advocateRalph Nader was on the board of directors, but left in 1975 due to a "division of philosophy" with the organization.[115][98] Nader wanted Consumer Reports to focus on policy and product advocacy, while Karpatkin focused on product rating and reviews.[101] Karpatkin was appointed executive director in 1974 and retired as president in the early 2000s.[101][116]
In 2023, Consumer Reports had an annual budget of over US$30 million, which supported 60 labs and teams of engineers and other employees.[117][20]
In January 2025, Consumer Reports named Phil Radford as its next president and CEO.[2] Radford was previously chief strategy officer at Sierra Club, CEO of Greenpeace, and worked with the Public Interest Research Group and Public Citizen.[2] Consumer Reports had over 5 million members as of April 2025.[48]
How the testing mistake was made is instructive not only forConsumer Reports but for everyone who cares about public safety.
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