Brand loyalty was never an easy achievement, but the metric has gotten exponentially tougher in the post-pandemic age. Among myriad determinants, ever-evolving—and ever-escalating—consumer expectations are the key drivers of loyalty, and meeting them has never been more difficult, according to the 2024 Brand Loyalty Leaders List from loyalty and engagement research firm Brand Keys, which shows the top brand rankings by their ability to engender customer loyalty.
“This year, consumers assessed 1,465 brands in 142 categories. The brands are ranked according to their loyalty strength,” said Robert Passikoff, founder and president of Brand Keys, which conducts the annual survey now in its 16th year, in a news release. “The analysis found consumer allegiance is driven by those expectations and acts as a true yardstick for loyalty success.”
Expectations Drive Loyalty
“The better a brand meets expectations determines how loyal customers will be and how profitable a brand will be,” said Passikoff. But he also warned that expectations increase every year—on average by 30 percent—while brands only keep up by 8-12 percent, demonstrating the gap between what consumers truly desire and feel a brand delivers. “It explains why some brands do better—or worse—than others. On our annual list and in the day-to-day marketplace.”
The 2024 Loyalty Leaders Top 40
The top 40 brands customers rated highest for loyalty this year included the following, along with their comparative rankings from 2023:
2024 Loyalty Leaders Sectors & Shifts In Rank
As for this year’s Top Loyalty Leaders, 21 percent were Retail brands, 18 percent were Entertainment brands, and CPG accounted for 14 percent of the list. Automotive/Travel-related brands and the Tech brand sector each represented 13 percent of this year’s list. Financial Services (10 percent), Personal Services (6 percent), and Restaurants (5 percent) made up the remaining Loyalty Leaders List sectors.
Because a brand’s ability to meet expectations determines how consumers will ultimately rank them, it explains why loyalty expands or contracts, and diagnostics can tell you why. The biggest increases and decreases among this year’s top 100 brands were:
Increases In Loyalty Ranking
- Mattel (+32)
- Levi Strauss (+29%)
- Ford (+23)
- American Express & Ralph Lauren (+16 each)
- Chipotle (+13)
Decreases In Loyalty Ranking
- Chobani (-18)
- UPS & Sam’s Club (-16 each)
- Lululemon (-15)
- Facebook, FedEx, and Hulu (-14 each)
- Dollar Tree (-13)
“The shifts in loyalty rankings are proof of concept,” said Passikoff. “Expectation shifts and a brand’s ability to meet them explain the changes in loyalty ranks.”
Last year’s “Barbi Bounce” continues to boost Mattel’s loyalty momentum. Levi Strauss’ is directly related to better meeting direct-to-consumer (D2C) consumer expectations. Ford’s post-purchase remote service options fueled loyalty for their brand. Amex ramped up CX programs to better meet customer expectations.
On the other hand, both FedEx and UPS saw loyalty rankings drop amid post-pandemic consumers’ engagement with alternative delivery options. Chobani is seeing the effects of lifestyle expectations shifts and an expanded competitive set including entries from Iceland and Australia. Sam’s Club was hurt by revoking free shipping for online orders under $50. Dollar Tree added more expensive items, which were antithetical to customer expectations.
“That’s what happens when consumers’ expectations aren’t met. Delight turns to disappointment. And loyalty is always the first victim,” said Passikoff.
Consumers Add Only Four Brands to 2024 Loyalty Leaders List
Increased expectations have made loyalty more challenging today because they’re mostly emotional. But they’re also leading indicators of consumer behavior and predictive of what consumers truly desire. So, by tracking expectations, a brand can put an early warning system into place.
“Changes in expectations provide brands with category and brand value alerts up to 18 months in advance of the marketplace, two years ahead of brand trackers, and 5 years ahead of focus groups,” said Passikoff.
Only four brands were added to the top 100 this year, the fewest number of new brands since the survey was initiated. Those included:
- Visa (#92)
- Expedia (#96)
- Taco Bell (#98)
- Wrangler (#100)
Loyalty is all about creating emotional connections, which drives how well consumers feel a brand meets their expectations. A brand that does that, always performs better in the marketplace.
“Alexander Pope wrote, ‘Blessed is he who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed.’ But to be fair, he didn’t have 21st century consumers to deal with. To successfully do that today, the very first thing marketers need are accurate measures of what those expectations really are,” said Passikoff. “Meet those and loyalty and profitability follow.”
The Brand Keys Loyalty Leaders List analysis was conducted in August 2024 and included 73,420 assessments (M/F, 16 to 65 YOA). U.S. respondents self-selected categories in which they are consumers and assessed 1,465 brands in 142 categories for which they’re customers.
The rankings are 100% consumer-driven, and predictively measure emotional and rational aspects of each consumer’s decision-process, which is why loyalty correlates so very highly (0.80+) with customer behavior, sales, and profitability.
