Retailers today are utilizing innovative tools and technologies to better connect with omnichannel shoppers. However, some brands at times struggle to pinpoint the most effective methods. A new study from Brand Keys revealed organizations across industries that are leading the pack in utilizing compelling methods to increase customer loyalty across channels.
The report, titled: Customer Loyalty Leaders 2012, features the loyalty rankings for the top 100 brands. Overall, the analysis revealed that retail brands dropped in the rankings by nearly a third compared to last year. While Amazon.com is resting at number four this year, other brands have suffered. For example, Zappos was number six on the 2011 list, and has dropped to number 18 for this installment.
“We believe that the inability for retailers to provide meaningful differentiation — beyond low-lower-lowest pricing strategies — has seriously eroded loyalty levels in the retail category,” said Robert Passikoff, Founder and President of Brand Keys, in a press release. “This is our 16th year aggregating the brand loyalty leaders, and it’s the first time we’ve seen such a seismic shift in loyalty leadership in terms of new categories and brands making their appearance in the top-100. Brand loyalty has always been primarily driven by emotional engagement, and the rankings on this year’s list make it crystal clear that connection is everything.”
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The top 10 loyalty leaders and their respective categories include the following:
- Apple: Tablets
- Amazon: Tablets
- Apple: Smartphones
- Amazon: Online Retail
- Apple: Computers
- Samsung: Tablets
- Call of Duty: Major League Gaming
- Samsung: Cellphones
- Halo: Major League Gaming
The Loyalty Leaders analysis was completed during September 2012 and includes assessments from 49,221 consumers between 18 and 65 years old who self-selected the categories in which they are consumers, and the brands for which they are customers. Participants were interviewed via phone, online and face-to-face. In total, Brand Keys assessed 598 brands in 83 industry categories within the 2012 Brand Keys Customer Loyalty Engagement Index.
The complete Brand Keys report can be downloaded by clicking here.
