Retail News CRM

Tag: brand loyalty

  • Nine in 10 APAC Consumers to Reconsider Buying from Unsustainable Brands

    Nine in 10 APAC Consumers to Reconsider Buying from Unsustainable Brands

    Around nine in ten consumers across Asia-Pacific plan to stop or reconsider buying from retail brands that fail to prioritise sustainability, Retail Asia reported this week. The regional consumer shift places immediate pressure on consumer goods makers and store operators across major regional markets.

    Shoppers across key Asian metropolitan centres increasingly treat environmental performance as a basic buying criterion rather than an optional marketing feature. Brands that delay operational changes face direct volume losses as regional consumers switch to competitors with transparent practices.

    Shifting Consumer Spending Priorities

    Consumer sentiment across Asia-Pacific retail channels demonstrates a sharp reduction in patience for businesses without visible sustainability targets. Retailers that treat environmental initiatives as secondary risk losing significant portions of their regular customer base.

    The shift affects everyday grocery, apparel, personal care and packaged food categories where substitution is straightforward. In these segments, switching costs remain low and shoppers actively look for clear evidence of responsible sourcing.

    Commercial Risk for Retail Operators

    For store operators and brand owners, customer churn driven by environmental practices creates a direct revenue threat. Retailers operating in competitive urban centres cannot afford to alienate large shares of their shoppers when customer acquisition costs remain elevated.

    Suppliers across regional retail ecosystems must adapt packaging, raw material sourcing and logistics networks to retain shelf placement. Retail chains are increasingly aligning their merchandise assortments with consumer demand for verifiable sustainability credentials.

    Supply Chain and Sourcing Demands

    Consumer pressure now travels directly up the retail supply chain to manufacturers, packaging suppliers and distribution partners. Operators that fail to audit their supply lines face reputational pushback from shoppers who demand accountability across product lifecycles.

    Regional manufacturers that modernise factory operations and reduce waste gain an immediate commercial advantage with retail category buyers. Suppliers slow to provide sustainability disclosures risk removal from mainstream store networks.

    What Retailers Face Next

    Retail networks across the region must balance the capital expense of operational overhauls against the clear cost of customer attrition. Brands that integrate environmental measures directly into product development and store operations will protect market share as consumer criteria tighten across Asia-Pacific.

  • Over A Third of Asian Shoppers Would Let AI Switch Brands, Accenture Finds

    Over A Third of Asian Shoppers Would Let AI Switch Brands, Accenture Finds

    More than a third of consumers across Asia would let artificial intelligence switch their purchases to a competing brand if the algorithm found a better match, according to data from Accenture.

    The finding reveals that conventional customer loyalty offers little protection against automated shopping tools designed to optimize price and product fit.

    Shoppers who identify as loyal to specific labels are willing to delegate buying decisions to autonomous digital assistants. These systems evaluate alternative products in real time and execute switches without requiring consumers to compare catalogs manually.

    Automated choices challenge legacy loyalty

    Retailers across the Asia-Pacific region have invested heavily in points schemes, subscription tiers, and bespoke mobile apps to lock in repeat buyers. Autonomous software cuts through those incentives by prioritizing immediate utility over historical brand affinity.

    When an algorithm spots a cheaper alternative, faster delivery, or better specifications, consumer willingness to let the machine override personal habits leaves traditional retention strategies exposed.

    The change shifts power toward platforms that control the automated interface rather than the merchants producing the goods.

    Trust gaps determine adoption speed

    Consumer willingness to hand over purchasing authority depends directly on how much trust shoppers place in the underlying algorithms. Retailers operating in Asian markets must now compete not only on shelf presence and digital advertising, but on whether their product feeds are structured for automated evaluation by third-party AI agents.

    Brands that fail to provide clean, verifiable product specifications risk being bypassed entirely by autonomous recommendation engines.

    Enterprise retailers across the region are now reassessing product data infrastructure as agentic commerce tools move from experimental pilots into mainstream consumer applications across Asian digital storefronts.

  • Consumer brand loyalty at record low

    Consumer brand loyalty at record low

    Global loyalty-marketing agency ICLP has found that consumer brand loyalty to retailers has dropped to a record low in Hong Kong.

    A mere 1 per cent are “devoted” to their preferred retail brands, an ICLP survey shows.

    The company surveyed 750 consumers in Hong Kong to rate their relationship experiences with friends, loved ones and brands using seven core criteria: recognition, rewards, reciprocity, reliability, respect, trust and communication.

    ICLP partnered with a global authority on relationship dynamics, Professor Ron Rogge of the University of Rochester in the US, to create a model based on Sternberg’s Triangular Theory of Love which focusses on three key components of a relationship: intimacy (willingness to share information with a retailer), passion (brand enthusiasm) and commitment (loyalty). When incorporated into a retail context, these components become tools for brands to foster devoted relationships with consumers.

    Relationships range from empty (the least desirable) through liking, casual, romantic and companionate to devoted (the most desirable). All customers in the devoted group would recommend a brand, demonstrating the value of a devoted consumer base for word-of-mouth business.

    Significant variation

    Levels of advocacy vary significantly in the other five relationship groups. Only 6 per cent of customers in a “liking” relationship would recommend a retailer to others, with 26 per cent in an “empty” relationship, 21 per cent in a “casual” relationship and 50 per cent in a “companionate” relationship.

    “Romantic” relationships, which Sternberg says are characterised by high levels of passion and intimacy, have a 74 per cent inclination to recommend brands.

    But as only 1 per cent of customers are at devoted level, retailers need to develop a deeper relationship with customers, says the study.

    It says loyalty programs are a major factor in driving spending, with 75 per cent of consumers surveyed saying they would shop more often with brands that have a loyalty program.

    Loyalty programs are more significant than traditional points-based reward programs, says the survey, which offers advice for retailers to help them inspire more “devoted” customer relationships…

    Foster brand advocacy: All “devoted” customers would recommend a retailer to others.

    Create stronger rewards programs: Consumers in “empty”, “liking” and “casual” relationships may have lower expectations about reward programs, but 75 per cent of survey respondents say they would buy more if they were better rewarded.

    Take time to understand customer needs: If retailers use their data to better understand individual shoppers’ needs, 69 per cent of those surveyed say they would buy more.

    Build respect and trust among consumers: If treated with more respect, 63 per cent of respondents say they would buy more, while 55 per cent would also buy more if they had better trust of brands.

    Improve communication with customers: With better communication from brands, 60 per cent of respondents say they would buy more.

    “Buy with hearts”

    “ICLP’s study is ground-breaking in understanding the key components of brand loyalty,” says Professor Rogge. “Interestingly, most of the respondents approached their relationships with favourite brands in a similar way to their personal relationships.

    It seems that developing a strong and devoted relationship with a brand might not be so different from developing a strong and caring bond with another person.

    “This suggests that people might buy with their ‘hearts’.

    “This is exciting work, as it allows us to better understand and track the various types of brand loyalty and, at the same time, provide retailers with critical insights into targeting the needs and desires of consumers to promote greater loyalty.”

    ICLP GM Mary English says brands are finding it hard to connect with their customers in a meaningful way. “The unprecedented level of choice available today has become a distraction for the consumer. Our research shows that consumers want the same from a brand as they do from their friends and loved ones- they want to build an emotional connection.”

    English says that retailers seeking to build and maintain “devoted” customer relationships should begin to truly understand the emotional factors that drive consumer loyalty.

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