EY Survey Says Brand Loyalty Losing Ground Worldwide

Brand loyalty is less and less influential in consumer decisions, but value for money is more important than ever in retail, the international consultancy firm Ernst & Young (EY) told MTI on Tuesday.

According to a survey by the consultancy, a third of shoppers do not even look at brand names, and two-thirds do not distinguish between private label goods and products from well-known manufacturers. 54% only choose from the range of popular brands at a discount, and 42% do not have a good opinion of product developments either, as they see them as a cost-cutting solution rather than a genuine innovation, they said.

The decline in brand loyalty was not primarily explained by this, but by livelihood insecurity and rising costs, as the economic difficulties of recent years have made consumers more cautious, the report said.

Ernst & Young therefore advises manufacturers and distributors to build more personalized relationships with their customers, to pay attention to changing customer needs and to ensure that traditional retail is no longer the only dominant market. Customers can now easily bypass traditional brand communication channels, making it increasingly difficult to remain visible in the consumer world, they added.

The EY Future Consumer Index survey polled more than 20,235 respondents in 26 countries between January 24 and February 20, the statement said.