Consumer research unveils attributes, qualities that drive consumer marketplace behavior
A new study measuring consumer connection to their favorite food brands continues to offer insight on the extent to which consumers truly love food brands, the feelings and emotions that drive brand love, and the ways in which brand love drives consumers’ marketplace behaviors. Consumer research conducted earlier this year surveyed 1,000 consumers; the sample was representative of the US population by age, gender, income, ethnicity and region. Research results have unveiled that consumer love of food brands, large and small, is pervasive in the US marketplace. Specifically, almost two-thirds (63%) of consumers reported loving their favorite branded food product, meaning they had developed an emotional attachment, beyond just liking or being loyal to it.
The study asked consumers to select up to 30 attributes that they liked about their favorite branded food product. The recently released data provided two distinct consumer groups: those who loved their favorite food brand, and those who merely liked it. Of the 30 attributes, the results found 12 attributes that ‘brand lovers’ were far more likely to ascribe to their favorite brand, compared to merely ‘brand likers.’ These were attributes believed to help differentiate and define loved food brands – attributes that lead consumers into forming enduring emotional attachments with certain brands and not others.