The survey reveals that, on average, consumers aged 18-24 showed more loyalty than those aged 45-54. Gen Y customers were more loyal to retail and food outlets, and on average, were more loyal than Gen X customers as well.
Ipsos head of loyalty Brett Tucker says the survey challenges previous conceptions about how Gen Y customers operate.
“We went in with no preconceived notions in generational difference, but we have found there is definitely generational loyalty. Gen Ys actually performed best in the metric asking whether they would leave for a job that paid more, there was quite a lot of loyalty there.”
“What was definitely fascinating was that it was Gen X and Baby Boomers who said that loyalty was an outdated concept. Gen Ys didn’t agree with that statement at all.”
But while Generation Y are more than willing to pledge their loyalty to retail businesses, the survey found 45% of respondents don’t believe businesses do a good job of actually encouraging that loyalty.
Tucker says businesses, especially SMEs in the retail industry, don’t understand their customers. He says earning the loyalty of Gen Y can become a lucrative venture if businesses implement a few simple techniques.
“We saw a trend among Gen Y – they had a very simple value proposition. They will give loyalty, but they want to see discounts, or a point-related rewards system. They also expect things to be cheaper.”
These things don’t have to be complicated, Tucker says. Discount cards and loyalty offers aren’t expensive, and they can encourage a lot of new sales if Gen Y customers, particularly savvy with social networking, spread the word.
“Another major thing they want is the ability to shop alone. They want to go it alone, don’t want store assistance, many don’t even want to have someone real talk to them in a call centre.”
“They just want to go it alone, do it themselves, and really don’t want any assistance. But if businesses give them these tools, they will earn the loyalty of Gen Y.”
Tucker points out earning loyalty isn’t just about asking customers to be loyal – 84% of customers said they would only be loyal to businesses that show loyalty back.
“A lot of businesses think that Gen Y, you just can’t win their loyalty because they’re a generation that moves a lot and doesn’t have that mindset. But I think this survey shows they do have loyalty, they just have a different proposition.”
“The main things here are – provide them with tools to shop themselves, don’t necessarily bother them with too much assistance and then you’ll find they will give your business their loyalty.”
Patrick Stafford is a freelance journalist and a former deputy editor of SmartCompany.
