Study: Brand loyalty is fleeting

Adtaxi, a Denver-based digital marketer, reports in a new study on American purchasing habits that while 75 percent of respondents indicated they have a preferred brand when shopping, 76 percent of them said they are likely to change that preferred brand.

Adtaxi conducted the study online and surveyed 1,000 consumers nationwide. Those polled represented a broad range of household income, geographic location, age and gender, according to Adtaxi, which also reported that when considering a purchase, price/value is the top factor consumers rely on (83 percent), followed by quality (80 percent), reputation (47 percent) and service (39 percent).

Seventy-nine percent of those surveyed said they typically learn about products and services by browsing online, which beat “word of mouth,” which was cited by 56 percent of respondents. Forty-nine percent said their purchasing decisions are influenced by friends’ social media posts, closely followed by 30 percent saying their decisions are influenced by a brand or retailer they follow on social media.

“While word of mouth was once the main way that consumers learned about products and services, we have seen this quickly change in recent years,” said Evan Tennant, Adtaxi’s national director of e-commerce, in a press release. “Today, marketers have learned to leverage the power of digital in order to reach consumers on their preferred devices and platforms with relevant, desirable messages on price and quality, thereby enhancing their credibility and closing the gap of influence between friends and brands.”

The study also examined the growing impact of influencer marketing. Fifty-nine percent of respondents have at least considered purchasing a product after seeing a post about it from a social media influencer. Among them, 56 percent ended up completing the purchase. Twenty-six percent say their purchasing decisions are impacted by social media influencers, and 24 percent put the same level of trust in friends and influencers when it comes to product opinions.

“As social media becomes more intertwined in our lives, brands are increasingly turning to influencer marketing to reach consumers on these platforms in an authentic way,” Tennant said. “In turn, we see consumers instilling trust in the influencers they follow. Whether it’s friends, retailers or influencers, the constant flood of information across digital platforms may contribute to the fact that today’s consumers seem to change their preferred brand at the drop of a hat. Our survey sheds light on this growing trend.”