New research from strategic research consultancy 5D has found that experienced consumers are less likely to stay loyal to brands, with purchasing behaviour increasingly shaped by previous category experience rather than demographics or intent.
The findings are based on analysis of more than 2,000 consumer decision journeys across a range of service categories.
According to the research, 66% of first-time buyers had already planned to consider the brand they ultimately chose. Among experienced buyers, that figure dropped to 50%, with 5D noting the gap has widened over the past five years.
Customer relationships move beyond acquisition
5D Founder and CEO Lyndall Spooner said the findings highlight the growing importance of post-acquisition customer relationships.
“For years, brands have treated customer marketing as something that happens before acquisition,” she said.
“But our research shows that what you do after the first sale is now the primary driver of long-term growth. The brands that are succeeding have stopped treating relationship building as a separate function and instead have started treating it as the core of their strategy.”
The research found that experienced buyers were more likely to compare and switch brands during the decision-making process, aided by technology and easier access to information.
It also found that around one-third of experienced buyers chose brands they had only considered during the purchase journey itself.
Lyndall Spooner
‘Experienced buyers are not loyal by default’
Spooner said experienced buyers generally fell into two groups: those committed to a brand relationship and those responding to offers or pricing.
“Experienced buyers are not loyal by default. They split into two groups: those who are genuinely committed to a brand because of the quality of the relationship, and those who are simply responding to the best offer at the time,” she said.
“The second group might deliver solid net promoter scores, for example, but they will leave the moment a better deal appears. Brands need to know which customers they actually have.”
Spooner said brands had a limited period to establish stronger customer relationships after acquisition.
“Every brand has a moment, usually during the first 12 months a customer is with them, where they can either deepen the relationship or lose the customer to the next offer,” she said.
“Technology has compressed that window. Brands that invest in better products, better service and better tools for their customers are the ones converting first-time buyers into long-term loyalists. The ones that don’t are left chasing the same customers over and over again at an increasing cost.”
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