Is brand loyalty dead? Are consumers so promiscuous and fickle that they’ll rush into the arms of another product maker for a more convenient experience? Well maybe, but the real motivators lie more in individual interaction preferences, which are getting more complex by the minute.
So what’s a poor brand to do? A new report from market research firm Alter Agents examines new metrics for shopper research to uncover insights based on consumer individuality and shopping promiscuity.
The firm’s new eBook, It’s Not You, It’s Me: Shopper Promiscuity in Context, is based on the premise that each shopper is influenced by several key factors when making a purchase decision, and provides a framework for brand marketers and researchers looking to get to the truth.
“We believe that the days of charting a clear path to purchase is long gone and that, influenced by the massive amount of technology and information at their fingertips, shoppers make decidedly individual decisions,” said Rebecca Brooks, co-founder of Alter Agents and author of the new eBook, in a news release. “Their purchases are driven by who they are, what they need, what matters to them, and how they are going to solve the ‘problem’ at hand. And these drivers can change from moment to moment.”
In It’s Not You, It’s Me: Shopper Promiscuity in Context, Alter Agents gives market researchers a look into current consumer behavior patterns and major influencers. They maintain that purchase patterns are driven by four major “promiscuity metrics”:
- Shopper promiscuity level:how willing a person is to experiment, take risks and try new things. To get accurate insights, we must understand a person’s general proclivities toward promiscuity.
- Product promiscuity level:the level of inherent promiscuity in the product category.
- Shopper priorities:parameters surrounding the individual shopping experience that reveal motives and priorities for a particular purchase.
- Context:how the actual shopping experience – whether online or in person – can ultimately can alter what people buy.
Brands can reframe the way they approach research in order to address these metrics proactively. The new eBook encourages companies using market research to:
- Create a survey design that is efficient and focused
- Put the customer first, not the brand
- Let the data lead the story; and
- Take the time to dive beyond the surface information for the insights that get to the heart of shopper behavior
By using the new promiscuity scoring framework, researchers can start to create deeper, more accurate insights.