- Most Loyalty Nods Go To Retail and Entertainment Brands
- Leaders Include: Amazon, Levi Strauss, Dick’s, Home Depot & eBay, Netflix, Mattel, Disney+, Amazon Prime, Apple TV & MAX
- Loyalty Correlates With Brand Experience, Exposure, and Interaction Fueling CX & AI
NEW YORK, NY, September 23, 2024 – Results of the 16th annual Brand Keys Loyalty Leaders survey – an identification of the top 100 brands according to their ability to engender real customer loyalty – found nearly half this year’s list (47%) populated by Retail and Entertainment brands among the 1,465 brands in 142 categories consumers assessed this year.
“A new statistical analysis found higher levels of consumer allegiance and loyalty were driven by customer interactions, brand contacts, and customer experiences (CX) – which offer opportunities to for brands to deliver what customers really expect,” said Robert Passikoff, founder and president of Brand Keys, Inc. (brandkeys.com), the New York-based loyalty and engagement research firm that conducts the annual survey.
Expectations, Brand Contact, and CX Drive Loyalty
“The better a brand meets expectations determines how loyal customers will be,” said Passikoff. On average, expectations increase 30% YOY. Brands only keep up by 8-12%, increased opportunities for exposure to and experience with a brand provides opportunities to bridge that gap, which explains why some brands do better – or worse – than others on our annual list and in the day-to-day marketplace.”
It also explains why personalized CX, supercharging the customer journey, heightened 24/7 customer support, and generative AI-fueled customer outreach and contact have taken on greater import in customer’s lives and loyalties.”
The 2024 Loyalty Leaders Top 10
The top 10 rankings for loyalty this year included the following (#s in parentheses indicate rankings YOY):
- Apple (Smartphones, #1)
- Amazon (Online Retail, #2)
- TikTok (Social Networking, #5)
- Domino’s (Pizza, #3)
- Netflix (Video Streaming, #4)
- YouTube (Social Networking, #11)
- Samsung (Smartphones, #8)
- Levi Strauss (Apparel Retailers, #37)
- Dunkin’ (Coffee, #14)
- Mattel (Toys, #42)
Which Brands Are Up (and Down)?
Because meeting expectations determines how consumers will ultimately behave, diagnostics can tell a marketer why. The largest increases and decreases among this year’s top 100 brands were:
Increases In Loyalty Ranking
- Mattel (+32)
- Levi Strauss (+29)
- Ford (+23)
- American Express & Ralph Lauren (+16 each)
- Chipotle (+13)
Decreases In Loyalty Ranking
- Chobani (-18)
- UPS & Sam’s Club (-16 each)
- Lululemon (-15)
- Facebook, FedEx, and Hulu (-14 each)
- Dollar Tree (-13)
“The shifts in loyalty rankings are proof of concept,” noted Passikoff. “And corroborate how increased customer interactions and experiences can reinforce a brand’s ability to meet the expectations and maintain customer loyalty levels. The “Barbi Bounce” has boosted Mattel’s loyalty. Levi Strauss’ better met direct-to-consumer (D2C) consumer expectations with their new programs. Ford’s post-purchase remote service options and Amex’s ramped up CX programs have both fueled increased loyalty for their brands.
On the other hand, both FedEx and UPS saw loyalty rankings drop amid post-pandemic consumers’ engagement experiences with alternative delivery options. Chobani saw the effects of an expanded competitive set including offerings frm Australia and Iceland. Sam’s Club revoked free shipping for online orders under $50 and Dollar Tree, adding more expensive items, provided consumers with a ready-made reason to shun the brand. “When expectations aren’t met, delight turns to disappointment and disappointment to disavowal. Loyalty is always the first victim,” advised Passikoff, “Followed shortly by brand profitability.”
Consumers Added Only Four New Brands To Top 100
“By tracking expectations and customer brand-experiences and interactions, marketers can construct an early warning system – with category and brand value alerts 18 months in advance of the marketplace, two years ahead of brand trackers, and 5 years ahead of focus groups,” noted Passikoff. This year only four brands moved into the top 100, the fewest number of new brands since the survey was initiated and included Visa (#92), Expedia (#96), Taco Bell (#98), and Wrangler (#100)
Loyalty is all about creating emotional connections, experience, and interactions, all of which drive how consumers feel a brand meets their expectations. A brand that does that, always performs better in the marketplace.
“Alexander Pope wrote, ‘Blessed is he who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed.’ But to be fair, he didn’t have 21st century consumers to deal with. To successfully do that today, the very first thing marketers need are accurate measures of what those expectations really are and what will increase customer interactions and experiences,” advised Passikoff. “Do that and loyalty and profitability follow.”
Methodology
The Brand Keys Loyalty Leaders List analysis was conducted August 2024 and included 73,420 assessments (M/F, 16 to 65 YOA). U.S. respondents self-selected categories in which they are consumers and assessed 1,465 brands in 142 categories for which they’re customers.
The Brand Keys’ rankings are 100% consumer-driven, and predictively measure emotional and rational aspects of each consumer’s decision-process, which is why loyalty correlates so very highly (0.80+) with customer behavior, sales, and profitability.
For the complete Loyalty Leaders List for 2024, click here: https://brandkeys.com/loyalty-leaders-list/
