Brits show brand loyalty in the face of low prices

Friday, June 28, 2013 - 12:20 by Mike Price

Although it is often assumed that the purchasing habits of consumers are driven by bargain prices rather than an affinity for a particular retailer in the world of online shopping, a new study has contradicted this fairly comprehensively.

A survey carried out by OnePoll and EPiServer, asked 1,000 British shoppers to talk about their online habits, with 57 per cent reporting that they are more inclined to buy from a retailer they know and trust, even if it is not necessarily offering the best possible prices.

EPiServer's David Bowen, explained that the growth of e-commerce has not been particularly detrimental to the loyalty of UK consumers to the retail brands that they have used in the past.

Brand loyalty is not a permanent thing and consumers need to be able to rely on a positive online experience, in order to stick with the same retailer for future purchases, according to Mr Bowen.

This report suggests that retailers need not focus purely on undercutting each other when it comes to price, because fostering a loyal user base is just as important for safe shopping online.

Expectations about online services are creeping into the sphere of social media, with the report indicating that a third of respondents had engaged with customer services via sites like Facebook and Twitter.

In addition, 35 per cent revealed that they had taken to their social platform of choice after making a purchase, in order to share their thoughts and feelings about both the product and the retail experience.

This means that e-commerce outlets and multichannel retailers across the UK need to start taking social media seriously or else face a scenario in which they are not able to live up to the expectations of customers.