Consumer loyalty is fleeting…I’m not so sure.
Over the last decade many have expressed concern over growing customer “promiscuity.” C-suite executives across industries frequently highlight how consumer loyalty is growing more and more elusive.
Empirically, it is true that customer choice has grown and customers leave brands and retailers more often and frequently than in decades past. But is that because people have changed their propensity for loyalty or is it because our approach to commerce has changed in a way that inspires less loyalty.
Everything I’ve observed leads me to believe that people are largely unchanged when it comes to loyalty. We are loyal to the people and communities that demonstrate care for our needs and wants. Friends and family typically do this well in these areas so they continue to garner our loyalty.
Before the digital revolution retailers used to have an opportunity to do this better too. Physical spaces with beautiful windows and floor display accompanied by smiling and helpful associates created an environment where consumers and brands could connect personally and build trust and loyalty through connection.
But the digital revolution in retail de-personalized the shopping experience. We moved from warm inviting stores with warm inviting associates to cold impersonal websites, emails, and texts with little or no human engagement. These new digital experiences were built for efficiency, not connection. We also changed our stores given the falling sales, reducing the number of associates on the floor and the amount of time they could spend with customers.
The retail experience is different today and likely worthy of less loyalty.
But do digital experiences have to be so impersonal and non-human. The answer is no. We can see how social platforms have leveraged human relationships to build tremendous loyalty. So much loyalty that an army of users are fighting and petitioning their politicians to keep TikTok in the US because of how much they value the platform and the impact it has on their lives and livelihood.
That’s why, in part, we’ve taken a video-first approach at sune (an affiliate of QVC). We are still in our building our new retail experience. But we believe video commerce enables us to create the human to human connections so valuable in building loyalty. In our new platform, consumers meet our makers and learn from and about them through rich, video-storytelling. It allows makers to share the stories behind the products they make in a very personal way. And it allows consumers to feel more deeply connected to the makers and products they discover.
We see the power that technology has to make the world of shopping, and the world in general, more human, not less. It's all about how we use it.
Want to see it in action, download sune and experience for yourself.
