Almost half of millennials will remain loyal to brands that they like, a new report by market research firm GWI has revealed, indicating that consistency and reliability are crucial in winning, and keeping, hearts and minds.
Over half (53%) of respondents indicated that they wanted brands to be reliable above all, whilst 43% wanted them to be smart and innovative, and 42% preferred them to be authentic. Only 18% of those surveyed wanted brands to be ‘traditional’.
Millennials were also shown to have a more positive outlook about AI and its development than other generations – with many millennials viewing AI not as threat, but as an ally. Notably, 78% said that they would consider consistently using ChatGPT over a search engine to help answer questions and 74% admitted to chatting to ChatGPT like they would to a live person (i.e. typing please and thank you).
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“For millennials, reliability is king. In times of an economic slowdown, especially when brand loyalty is tested, consumers are looking for ways to get value beyond cost. Nearly half of millennials are loyal to the brands they like, so if brands have good suppliers and can manage quality control on the products they provide, this will likely go a long way – creating valuable advocates at a time when trust is crucial,” the GWI report reads.
“They can take this further by supporting consumers post-purchase too. Millennials are 10% more likely than average to cite a live-chat feature as a purchase driver, and the number one thing they expect from brands is to listen to feedback. Being on-hand to deal with any questions they may have is a simple and effective way of earning those all-important repeat customers”
Rather surprisingly, and despite increasing distrust of influencers – this category of marketing remains significantly popular among millennials, with 80% saying that they find them trustworthy and a staggering 1 in 3 believing that influencer influencer recommendations are more trustworthy than regular ads.
