Bad News For Brands: Supermarket Shoppers Don't Care

MediaPost Publications, June 26, 2007 — WHEN SHOPPING IN SUPERMARKETS OR drug stores, are consumers likely to show any brand loyalty? Practically none. A new report from TNS Retail Forward finds that three-quarters of shoppers will happily switch brands, motivated not just by what's cheaper, but even what's at eye level. "Few brands are immune to switching behavior," the market researcher reports.

Baby Boomers More Loyal To Service Providers Than To Products

MediaPost Publications, May 17, 2007 — BABY BOOMERS WERE REVOLUTIONARY--BUT THEY are less brand-loyal than preceding generations. According to a study released this week by market-research firm Focalyst, a joint venture between AARP and the Kantar Group, boomers defy expectation. The Focalyst data provides specific measures of boomer "brand loyalty" for products and services, drawing on a panel of about 35,000 consumers over the age of 42.

Brand Loyalty Only Goes So Far†

Brandweek, May 14, 2007 — A new study finds that 21% of shoppers that are loyal to a particular brand require it to be on sale before they'll make the purchase. Some shoppers will even travel to other stores in search of deals, according to the online survey of 650 grocery shoppers conducted in April by Synovate, Chicago. The phenomenon was most common among ice cream brands where 36% of respondents were dubbed system beaters.

Closing Arguments: Brand Keys' Loyalty Engagement Index†

Brandweek, May 2, 2007 — Beer is pretty much beer. If a guy at a barbecue pulls a Budweiser out of the cooler, he expects that it's going to, at worst, taste bitter or watered-down. At best, it will probably just taste like regular ol' beer. The same can be said for a McDonald's meal: It's not going to taste like brunch at the Four Seasons. For beer, fast food and a host of everyday products, you can reasonably expect it'll be good enough—but you can't expect a lot.

Discover Uncovers the Secret: Rewarding Loyal Customers Works†

Brandweek, May 1, 2007 — t’s been a busy spring for Discover. In the last two months, the Riverwoods, Ill., company has re-branded its platinum card, rolled out a new card for small business owners, one for WNBA fans, another for people who mostly use the card for automotive purchases and yet another that actually rewards cardholders who may not carry a balance. Oddly, the aim of all this isn’t to attract new customers as it is to reward the very loyal ones the company already has.

Love Those Loyalty Programs: But Who Reaps the Real Rewards?

Knowledge@Wharton, April 4, 2007 — Click to enter the mileage mall, a cyberspace bazaar where everything from flowers to golf clubs to cruises is bought and sold in the mall's own currency — frequent flyer miles. At American Airlines' AAdvantge e-shopping site, more than 200 vendors — including Bergdorf Goodman, Home Depot and Petco — offer bonus miles to shoppers. Like the currencies of countries, the value of vendors' currencies fluctuates as well.

The Nosebleed VIPs†

Teams Give Upper-Deck Fans Courtside Service to Keep Season-Ticket Holders Happy

Wall Street Journal, March 19, 2007 — The New Jersey Nets have plied season-ticket holder Neil Kaplan with offers of autograph sessions for his kids, free tickets and even a chance to meet the team president. On this night, Brad Aikins, a Nets service representative, has stopped by during a game to shoot the breeze.

Loyalty Programs Can Be a Waste of Money

Stanford Graduate School of Business, October 1, 2006 — Loyalty or reward programs like frequent flyer plans or buy-ten-get-one-free cards have been touted as powerful tools for increasing company profits. But recent research at Stanford Graduate School of Business suggests that in fact such programs have limited effectiveness—and sometimes end up just costing organizations money

where's the loyalty

Fast Company, January 1, 2005 — Do loyalty programs truly engender customer loyalty? Or do customers keep coming back for other reasons?