Brand names voted top influence in British consumers’ store preferences

Research has revealed that ‘reputable brand names’ and ‘loyalty schemes’ are the top reasons behind the store preferences of British consumers, as voted by shoppers in the UK. Just over a third of consumers revealed that they regularly visit stores that they had previously not heard of.

TrustedLoyaltyPartners.co.uk, polled 1,642 British consumers from around the UK as part of the research, all of whom were 18 years old or older. All respondents were polled on their shopping habits.

Respondents were asked: ‘What are the biggest influences behind your store preferences i.e. where you most prefer to shop?’

• 34% indicated that it was because of the store’s ‘reputable brand name’.
• 26% indicated that a store’s ‘loyalty schemes’ draw them into stores.
• 17% of those polled prefer stores due to their ‘discounts available’.
• 14% of respondents revealed that they visited stores due to ‘recent advertising’.
• 9% of respondents stated that they were influenced by ‘social media campaigns’.

All participants who indicated that ‘reputable brand names’ was an influence on their store preferences were asked to reveal why the store’s branding affected their decision to shop in the store. This revealed that the majority of UK shoppers feel they ‘can trust big brands’ (81%). 73% of respondents who selected ‘loyalty schemes’ revealed they did so because they ‘got additional benefits compared to shopping in rival stores’.

Lastly, researchers asked consumers: ‘When on the high street, how often do you visit a store that you had not heard of before?’ A majority of respondents (53%) revealed that they ‘never’ visited a store that they had not heard of before, with only 36% ‘regularly’ visiting stores that they were not previously aware of. The remaining 11% stated that they ‘sometimes’ visited these stores.

Chris Heather, director at Trusted Loyalty Partners, said: “Our research shows that every consumer is different and different reasons drive consumers to each store. One thing I can say is that we have seen the benefits that loyalty schemes have in driving consumers into stores. Whilst they are still a relatively rare thing for retailers to offer, they are growing steadily and successfully with benefits offered to all involved parties.”