Another change the pandemic has wrought. Our loyalty to brands is diminished. (These are the findings of McKinsey and Company which surveyed customer attitudes after the pandemic/quarantine hit the world.)
Part of that problem is that many of the branded items have been in short supply. So, the choice is/was to do without or find an alternative. That certainly diminishes brand loyalty. (It’s as if the brand abandoned us- rather than us abandoning it.)
But, it’s way more than that. I’ll bet many of you are like my friends who have opted to start using a grocery delivery service. And, many of those gig workers are less likely to search for the brands you want- they want to pick and deliver your food as quickly as possible, since time is money.
The pandemic has caused some ¾ of us to change the way we shop. And, it’s not because of one reason- we have new priorities, stores have been closed, and economic circumstances have changed. Which is why 36% of us have experimented with new brands and 73% of those that have done so plan to continue doing so. (To be honest, most of those 73% folks are Gen Z and high earners). ¼ of us have opted to try private-label items- and 80% of those folks will abandon their branded items for their newer choices.
One of the key findings McKinsey discovered is that for years folks assumed we bought what we did out of brand loyalty. Now, they aren’t so sure. There’s a difference between brand loyalty and habit. (When I switched my grocery shopping to Shopper’s Food Warehouse [now out of business] six years ago, much of my brand choices were gone. And, I found alternatives. Just like folks are doing now during the pandemic.)
The example McKinsey uses was folks who bought Oreos religiously. (Sure wish Nabisco hadn’t bought Sunshine and killed my Hydrox!) But, only one group was a fan of the brand; the other just wanted cookies. And, as McKinsey also observes, habits are easily broken, since the customer is not invested in the brand.
Which means we business folks have to invest a lot more effort now to (re-)build the brand loyalty needed for our business success!
You are right about the change in shopping habits.Its way less now.
Amazing how the pandemic changed that habit!
I was never brand loyal (I learned that at my mother’s knee !) except for a very few things – Cheerios and Oreos, now that you mention it. And, growing up (until I was 12) in a kosher home, I sure remember Hydrox. So different brands per se don’t bother me. What does bother me is these weird brands of wipes, toilet paper, hand sanitizer (yes, I use it when I must) that are popping up and I am not sure I trust any of them.
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Be very careful of those hand sanitizers- it’s like the old story about drinking alcohol- they sometimes “improvise” with the wrong alcohol.
I’ve found that when ordering groceries online for curbside pickup the produce is terrible. We decided they pickup the worse items instead of checking freshness. So no more produce will be orders to pickup. I forgot all about Hydrox!
I’m with you on that grocery deal, Martha. I’ll pick my own.
Great article. I question how well we can rebuild our fan base. If in fact it is mostly genZ and a whole new world is opening up in front of us, most I believe will continue to search for the new, and slightly different. I believe we as business people will need to split our time and devide our business to 50% tried and true and 50% new and changing, watching what might be trending and adding or subtracting it as we go forward.
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Great advice, Chef William! Thanks for adding to the conversation- a lot!
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I did it all myself.