I bought a new shirt the other day and I realized that I keep shopping for the same brands and the same style that I always buy. Do I have a brand loyalty? Am I aligning myself group by wearing a certain brand? What about new cars in Dallas and Fort Worth? Are people brand loyal when it comes to new cars?
“Sure”, you might say, “…but only with trucks and maybe sports cars…Mini-vans and sedans? Probably not.” Is that really true though? I did some research and found out that isn’t entirely true. In fact, 3 out of 4 new car buyers ARE brand loyal…even to mini-vans and sedans.
Here’s the rub. According to a Consumer Reports survey I read, it says that 73%of new car buyers are somewhat likely, or very likely to buy from the same brand again. However, it apparently depends a lot on age and gender:
CR says 54% of women are very likely to stay brand loyal, while just 43% of men are. And half of older drivers say they plan to buy a vehicle of the same brand next time, vs. 41% of younger crowd.
OK, so what is changing the minds of the other 27%? Apparently, top three reasons people say they’d switch to a different brand are higher quality, better fuel economy and a lower price.
So, just over a quarter of new car buyers see the automobile as a simple mode of transportation.
Just 27%, that seems awfully low…except when you are dealing with brand loyalty. We’ve aligned ourselves in such a way with brands that people can, quite literally, get to know a little something about your personality from a mile away simply by the shape of the car you drive. That’s right…the shape. Think about it for a second and if you don’t already know this, you’ll figure it out. Buick, GMC, BMW, Mercedes, Lexus all have their signature silhouettes.