Almost half of UK customers (47 percent) believe it no longer pays to be loyal, according to a new report into consumer attitudes.
The research by ELLO Media found that out of 1,000 customers, 57 percent have switched providers in at least one market sector (utility, banking, mobile network operator, supermarket, fashion retail, in-house telecom, and media) in the last 12 months. More than one-in-five (22 percent) had switched utility providers; 21 percent had switched insurance providers; and more than one in eight (13 percent) had switched their in-house telecoms provider in the past year.
However, more than a third of consumers across all market sectors said they would be loyal to brands if they got true value for their loyalty. When asked about how they like their loyalty to be rewarded, respondents identified supermarket vouchers (53 percent), restaurant discounts (24 percent), and cinema discounts or tickets (19 percent) as the options they felt offered them the best value for staying loyal.
Michael Kalli, Managing Director for ELLO Media, said: “The findings of the report reflect that consumers will be loyal when they feel they are receiving real value for doing so. The fact that so many feel it no longer pays to be loyal and have switched at least one provider in the past 12 months shows that brands’ loyalty programmes simply aren’t delivering for their customers.
“Rapid developments in data capture has presented businesses with an incredible opportunity to learn more about their customers than ever before. Yet many brands still aren’t making full use of the technology on offer, leading to their loyalty schemes failing to meet customer expectations. With it costing five times as much to acquire a new customer as it does to retain an existing one, it is in brands’ best interests to start improving their loyalty programmes in earnest.”
Consumers were also asked to identify which brands they felt most loyal to across the banking, insurance, utility, supermarket, fashion retail, in-house telecom, mobile network operator and media market sectors. The brands that consumers feel most actively loyal to in each market sector were identified as:
- Media provider – Netflix (32 percent)
- In-house telecoms – Sky (23 percent)
- Supermarket – Tesco (20 percent)
- Utility – British Gas (18 percent)
- Mobile network operator – EE (18 percent)
- Fashion retailer – Primark (17 percent)
- Insurance – Aviva (14 percent)
- Banking – NatWest (12 percent)