Startup DreamersStartup Dreamers
  • Home
  • Startup
  • Money & Finance
  • Starting a Business
    • Branding
    • Business Ideas
    • Business Models
    • Business Plans
    • Fundraising
  • Growing a Business
  • More
    • Innovation
    • Leadership
Trending

‘NYT Mini’ Clues And Answers For Tuesday, July 22

July 22, 2025

How Entrepreneurs Can Fix Their Finances

July 22, 2025

Why Your Company Updates Get Ignored — and How to Fix It

July 22, 2025
Facebook Twitter Instagram
  • Newsletter
  • Submit Articles
  • Privacy
  • Advertise
  • Contact
Facebook Twitter Instagram
Startup DreamersStartup Dreamers
  • Home
  • Startup
  • Money & Finance
  • Starting a Business
    • Branding
    • Business Ideas
    • Business Models
    • Business Plans
    • Fundraising
  • Growing a Business
  • More
    • Innovation
    • Leadership
Subscribe for Alerts
Startup DreamersStartup Dreamers
Home » Why Customer Loyalty As We Know It Is A Myth
Startup

Why Customer Loyalty As We Know It Is A Myth

adminBy adminNovember 3, 20230 ViewsNo Comments5 Mins Read
Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email

Simon Hathaway is Group Managing Director, EMEA, at Outform—the award-winning global innovation agency.

In the ever-evolving landscape of retail, shopper behavior is changing rapidly. No matter what your understanding of loyalty in the past, the chances are your customer has other ideas.

The modern shopper, identified by McKinsey as a “zero consumer,” has zero patience, zero boundaries and zero loyalty. This new type of consumer shops across multiple channels, challenging traditional notions of brand loyalty as they go.

So how does this redefine customer loyalty as we know it? And how can businesses learn to adapt to these zero consumers?

Unpacking The Ambiguity Of Loyalty

The concept of loyalty in itself is subject to debate. Almost every one of us will have a certain number of brands we feel define us, whether that’s a favorite sneaker logo, a go-to perfume or a heritage watch brand. But does that count as brand loyalty or is it merely a status play?

In the consumer goods industry, businesses have traditionally relied on brand portfolios to create loyalty and discounted at the point of sale to draw shoppers in. The ultimate aim and sign of loyalty for any consumer goods brand would be to consistently appear on a shopping list. But when you write your grocery shopping list, it’s more likely to include a product type or category rather than a specific brand name.

The advertising industry, too, has leaned heavily into the idea of “loyalty to a brand” in campaign creation, yet I think the reality is quite different.

Loyalty Is Value

In the retail sector, consumers are loyal to value rather than a brand, and this translates into an eagle-eyed focus on financial discounts.

We’re seeing this play out even more clearly as consumers rein in spending during the cost of living crisis. Some 61% of U.K. consumers feel less loyal to a brand now than they did a year ago as they hunt around for the best deals.

Where it gets interesting is that consumers have become skilled at playing the loyalty game, recognizing the value of their personal transactions with a brand. Savvy shoppers know to leave items in a wishlist or basket to trigger a discount before they close the deal. Or to shop for branded products at a previously unknown online retailer so they can take advantage of a first-order discount offered in exchange for signing up to a mailing list.

In reality, loyalty as we know it is primarily a financial discounting model, and I believe that the pursuit of long-term brand loyalty, as we might have previously understood it, will be increasingly elusive.

Meeting The Needs Of The Zero Consumer: A Loyalty Reset

If established loyalty strategies are failing to keep customers on your side, then it might be time to consider a different approach. This is where I think delivering utility is key and where brands and retailers can address the three critical shopper budgets of time, money and frustration.

Retailers are well-versed in using loyalty programs to offer financial incentives, but they often overlook the value consumers place on convenience if it saves them time and reduces frustrations.

For the zero consumer, queues are wasted time. Even fast check-outs, which are often under-resourced, have become a source of frustration—along with clunky apps and disconnected systems.

To tackle these issues, I encourage retailers to embrace digital tools and technology to boost convenience. Seamless apps, useful QR codes and informative digital screens can all smooth the path to purchase and encourage shoppers to stay on your side.

Sometimes, the clear time or frustration benefit doesn’t have to be explicit. In fact, the more seamless the experience, the more likely you are to deliver on consumer expectations around time and frustration with customers barely noticing.

I think companies like British Airways are a prime example of this. They allow loyal customers to skip queues and board planes first, offering travelers a clearly defined, but unspoken, benefit that ticks the boxes for time and frustration. Of course, when they get it wrong and they do, the frustration is far greater as they fail to meet expectations of the value of loyalty.

Brands and retailers would be wise to remember that loyalty is no longer about the lifetime value of the customer, but the value a brand delivers to the life of its customer.

Value will always be a crucial part of the loyalty equation but what it means isn’t solely a discount. By balancing price and delivering convenience, brands and retailers can not only reset loyalty by catering to the needs of the zero consumer, but put themselves in a stronger position to fend off potential disruptors.

Forbes Business Council is the foremost growth and networking organization for business owners and leaders. Do I qualify?

Read the full article here

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email

Related Articles

This AI Warps Live Video in Real Time

Startup July 22, 2025

GM’s Final EV Battery Strategy Copies China’s Playbook: Super Cheap Cells

Startup July 20, 2025

Tech Billionaires Back Erebor in the Wake of Silicon Valley Bank Collapse

Startup July 19, 2025

Microsoft and OpenAI’s AGI Fight Is Bigger Than a Contract

Startup July 18, 2025

I Tried Grok’s Built-In Anime Companion and It Called Me a Twat

Startup July 17, 2025

‘People Are Going to Die’: A Malnutrition Crisis Looms in the Wake of USAID Cuts

Startup July 15, 2025
Add A Comment

Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

Editors Picks

‘NYT Mini’ Clues And Answers For Tuesday, July 22

July 22, 2025

How Entrepreneurs Can Fix Their Finances

July 22, 2025

Why Your Company Updates Get Ignored — and How to Fix It

July 22, 2025

How Blanco Became a $20 Million Fashion Brand

July 22, 2025

This AI Warps Live Video in Real Time

July 22, 2025

Latest Posts

Why Emotional Branding Is Out and Functional Loyalty Is In.

July 21, 2025

‘NYT Mini’ Clues And Answers For Sunday, July 20

July 20, 2025

How Value-Based Pricing Can Harm Your Business

July 20, 2025

How 2 Stanford Grads Turned an Idea Into a WNBA Partnership

July 20, 2025

What My First Failed Startup Taught Me — and How I Finally Got It Right 20 Years Later

July 20, 2025
Advertisement
Demo

Startup Dreamers is your one-stop website for the latest news and updates about how to start a business, follow us now to get the news that matters to you.

Facebook Twitter Instagram Pinterest YouTube
Sections
  • Growing a Business
  • Innovation
  • Leadership
  • Money & Finance
  • Starting a Business
Trending Topics
  • Branding
  • Business Ideas
  • Business Models
  • Business Plans
  • Fundraising

Subscribe to Updates

Get the latest business and startup news and updates directly to your inbox.

© 2025 Startup Dreamers. All Rights Reserved.
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Press Release
  • Advertise
  • Contact

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

GET $5000 NO CREDIT