There are many different conversations around the subject of brand loyalty these days. We’ve decided to listen to the source. In our 2022 Consumer Product Content Benchmark Report, we asked 1,650 respondents to describe their shopper persona. 17% of respondents labeled themselves as “The Brand Loyalist.” In this article, we explore their shopping habits.

“The Brand Loyalist – trusts a few brands and a few brands only; it’s very hard for product content or good deals from other brands to break into my circle of trust.”

The Brand Loyalist, like many other shoppers, is spending more time researching products before purchase, especially in the wake of increased inflation. 39% of Brand Loyalists admit to being significantly impacted by inflation and 61% are purchasing fewer essential goods to account for it (60% of the goods getting cut are clothing/accessories). 

Brand Loyalists, however, don’t focus solely on price when shopping. While 44% of Brand Loyalists check product content for price comparisons, 55% spend more time researching product content to ensure a brand’s values align with their own. Value-forward shopping is a part of the Brand Loyalist’s experience and how they choose their products.

Despite being hyper-focused on specific brands, Brand Loyalists don’t limit their shopping pursuits to just brand-run platforms. 23% of Brand Loyalists have never shopped on a mobile app operated by a brand, 16% have never shopped on e-commerce sites directly operated by a brand and 29% have never shopped directly from a brand through social media advertisements or in-app web browsers. This indicates that while Brand Loyalists are searching for specific brands, they are using retailer sites, in-store displays and other methods to find them. 

Much like the general consumer, Brand Loyalists are increasingly shopping online and integrating the digital shelf in their in-person shopping pursuits. 69% of Brand Loyalists bought something online in the past 12 months that they’d previously only ever bought in store. 45% of those items were clothing. In addition, 55% have scanned a QR code while in-store. Other virtual features Brand Loyalists have leveraged are augmented reality (AR) and product bundling suggestions.

50% of Brand Loyalists have made a purchase through a product bundling suggestion and 35% were extremely satisfied with that purchase. 56% who weren’t satisfied blamed the incompatibility of the bundling suggestion with their original purchase. 62% enjoyed the product bundling suggestion because it introduced them to a new brand. This demonstrates the importance of accurate product bundle suggestions.

35% of Brand Loyalists occasionally used AR in the last year and 48% liked that the AR animations helped them to get a sense of the product or brand’s personality.

In terms of trustworthy content, Brand Loyalists put most of their faith in on-product packaging rather than online or on-display content. This could be a factor in the lengths Brand Loyalists will go to research products before making a significant purchase. 44% of this group will research 2-3 products and 58% will visit 2-3 sites before purchase.

While they research products diligently, Brand Loyalists still end up with purchase regret. 60% have made an online return in the past 18 months and 58% of those returns have been clothing/accessories. 59% of those returns were blamed on inaccurate, misleading or poor product content. 48% blamed product photography that insufficiently captured all angles of the product, leading to a false expectation. This makes sense since of all product content features, Brand Loyalists find scale imagery most helpful. 

For more data on shopping behavior, download the full 2022 Product Content Benchmark Report here.