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Consumers Enjoy Being in Brand ‘Fandoms’: Survey

Brand loyalty does not always mean there is a ‘fandom.’

Published

2 months ago

March 15, 2024

INSTORE Staff

PHOTO: ISTOCKPHOTO

Shoppers who are a part of “fandoms” are more likely to support brands, according to a recent survey by Kearney Consumer Institute (KSI).

The report makes a clear distinction between a “habit buyer” and a “superfan” – the distinction being a superfan is a part of a fandom, which is connected to a larger community of fans.

80 percent of shoppers say they feel they belong to a fandom (this includes pop culture, political groups, religious beliefs).
52 percent say they enjoy sharing their fandom.
62 percent said they are a part of a brand community or fandom.
23 percent said they have a “complete obsession” with a brand and 63 percent said they are unlikely to ever stop supporting it.

“Brands need to be more honest about what loyalty really means. A lot of people just buy things out of habit, but I don’t know if they were ever truly loyal,” Katie Thomas of KCI said in an interview with Retail TouchPoints. “Say I’m buying detergent and I look for the orange Tide bottle. I may buy it because that’s what I always buy, not because I’m so fiercely loyal to it. This purchase behavior could arguably be disrupted at any time versus when you start to make those steps up the pyramid to be more committed and start to advocate for the brand.”

She Wanted to Spend More Time with Her Kids. She Called Wilkerson.

Your children are precious. More precious than gold? Absolutely! Just ask Lesley Ann Davis, owner of Lesley Ann Jewels, an independent jewelry store that — until the end of 2023 — had quite a following in Houston, Texas. To spend more time with her four sons, all in high school, she decided to close her store. Luckily, she was familiar with Wilkerson and called them as soon as she knew she wanted to move on to bigger, better and more family-focused things. Was she happy with her decision? Yes, she was. Says Davis, “Any owner looking to make that life change, looking to retire, looking to close, looking for a pause in their career, I would recommend Wilkerson. Hands down!”