Samsung, Apple and Marmite Triumph in the UK's New Brand Loyalty Index

LONDON, October 19, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Sodexo Engage has launched the UK's first Brand Loyalty Index, looking at how loyal customers really are towards brands and why.

The research, conducted by Atomik, surveyed 7,000 consumers on hundreds of household name brands across supermarkets, mobile telephone services, home telephone and broadband providers, film & video subscription services, banks and building societies, utilities and services, insurance providers, comparison sites, technology, travel, leisure, food and drink (including alcoholic beverages), personal care and household.

The final Index ranks the 50 brands that UK consumers are most loyal to, which span food, drink, household and personal care, technology and supermarkets.

   
    Rank    Brand        Sector

    1       Samsung      Technology
    2       Apple        Technology
    3       Marmite      Food
    4       Dyson        Technology
    5       Heinz        Food
    6       Sky TV       Technology
    7       Oral B       Household & Personal Care
    8       Gillette     Household & Personal Care
    9       Kellogg's    Food
    10      Netflix      Technology

Consumers were questioned on their loyalty drivers including temptation to switch brands, favouritism, frequency of use, commitment, expectations and willingness to recommend the brand.

Other key findings include:  

• Samsung pipped Apple to the post, scoring strongly on both high and consistent quality, despite the issues with its faulty Galaxy phone
• Marmite ranked 3^rd, proving that those who love the brand really are loyal to it
• Coca-Cola failed to make it in to the top 50 brands consumers are loyal to, yet Pepsi ranked 33^rd
• When consumers were asked which brands they felt most loyal to, Tesco came in 4^th. However, when questioned further, consumers admitted to easily dropping the brand, giving it an ultimate ranking of just 36^th
• M&S and Aldi ranked 1^st and 2^nd respectively in the supermarkets category
• Technology brands featured highest in the Brand Loyalty Index
• Brand heritage was key to the success of Heinz, with 76% of users having been loyal to the brand for over 20 years
• Supermarkets and technology providers are seen to reward loyalty more than any other sectors
• Ben & Jerry's (40^th) just beat Haagen-Dazs (44^th)

Chris Baldwin, Director of Consumer Promotions and Loyalty, Sodexo Engage, commented:

"The Brand Loyalty Index 2017 has offered new insight in to how loyal consumers really are to the brands we come across every day. The range and choice of products now available is bigger than ever before, increasing the cost involved in attracting new users, which is wasted if there is no focus on repeat purchasing. The Index proves that rewarding loyalty is being noticed by consumers and is an effective way to retain a customer base.

As well as being rewarded for loyalty, UK consumers also value brand heritage, quality of goods and consistency of quality."

Notes to editors  

Full methodology 

Sodexo gave a nationally representative selection of 2,000 people a list of hundreds of brands across 10 different sectors, and asked them which they used and which they classed as their favourites. The preliminary survey explored supermarkets, mobile telephone services, home telephone and broadband providers, film & video subscription services, utilities and services, insurance providers, comparison sites, technology, travel, leisure, food and drink (including alcoholic beverages), personal care and household.

This preliminary survey enabled us to identify the 10 most popular brands in five of the most popular sectors. This information was fed into the main brand loyalty survey, which was rolled out to 5,000 consumers nationally. The results of the main survey were then crunched and analysed in Sodexo's Brand Loyalty Index 2017.

The resultant index explored food, drink, household and personal care, technology and supermarkets, with a raft of questions about behaviour towards brands and how easily they could be swayed off brands. Each possible answer had a ranking, so points were totted up for each brand and the final table of 50 drawn up.

About Sodexo

Founded in 1966 by Pierre Bellon, Sodexo is the global leader in services that improve Quality of Life, an essential factor in individual and organisational performance. Operating in 80 countries, we serve 75 million consumers each day through our unique combination of On-site Services, Benefits and Rewards Services and Personal and Home Services.

Part of the Benefits and Rewards division, here in the UK we specialise in employee and consumer engagement, with over 50 years' heritage in creating award-winning experiences. From growing employee culture and inspiring success in workplaces, to driving consumer engagement with brands, we give businesses the tools to create lasting change through transforming behaviours, engagement and performance in people. We believe in bringing people and business together through creativity and excellent service, with our long-standing mission of improving the quality of life of everyone we work with.