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A Sixth Type of Loyalty
SAP Emarsys surveyed 10,006 consumers in the US, UK, Australia, Germany, and Taiwan. For the first time, they identified a new type: Trend Loyalty – short-term loyalty driven by social media.
14% of consumers fall into this category. True Loyalty declined for the first time in five years.
Social Media Beat Advertising
The numbers are clear. 15% buy products just because they’re trending on TikTok. Another 15% bought products they didn’t even need. 20% feel connected to a product simply because it’s popular. But 29% quickly lose interest when the trend ends.
Trust has shifted. 19% trust products more if they go viral. 16% trust TikTok and social media more than ads or official brand websites. 20% follow influencers for product discovery. 18% bought a product solely because an influencer promoted it.
Source: emarsys.com
Gen Z Switches Brands
70% of Gen Z claim they have a brand they love. Paradoxically, this generation switches brands most frequently. 39% abandoned a brand over poor sustainability practices – double the rate of older generations.
This aligns with what we found in our previous analysis of Gen Z behavior: they care less about authenticity and more about entertainment and product information. They understand influencer marketing is a business transaction, not friendship. They’re not looking for genuine connections – they want entertaining product demos that help them decide what to buy.
Gen Z works differently. They care less about price or quality alone. They’re more influenced by personalisation, values, and emotions. They expect brands on TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram with authentic content.
The Personalisation Problem
23% of consumers say batch-and-blast marketing actively damages their loyalty. Yet 84% of brands don’t excel at personalisation. 60% believe most marketing emails aren’t relevant. 40% say brands don’t understand them as people. Only 16% of marketers feel ready for the new era.
Quality Decides
59% are loyal due to product quality. What destroys loyalty?
- 54% leave over declining quality
- 49% over price increases
- 47% over poor service
- 34% over irresponsible data handling
Mobile Channel
36% express loyalty by downloading an app. 54% use shopping apps, 49% banking, 39% social media, 39% entertainment. For communication, email dominates at 69%. Then SMS at 43%, direct mail at 43%, and mobile push at 30%.
Regional Differences
The US leads at 73%, up 4 points from 2024. Germany rose from 61% to 66%. The UK stayed at 67%. Australia dropped to 65%. Taiwan, measured for the first time, hit 66%.
Source: emarsys.com
Consumer Products Grows
48% are loyal to Consumer Products brands – up 8 points from 2024. These customers show higher True Loyalty at 38% versus 29% average. 77% are loyal due to quality.
What’s Next
Sara Richter, CMO at SAP Emarsys:
“We’re entering the Engagement Era. Loyalty is no longer earned through advertising, but through relevance and personalisation in every interaction.”
Brands using AI for real-time personalisation are winning. For brands, this means: adapt to personalised engagement in real time, or disappear under pressure from viral moments that change faster than traditional marketing can respond.
