4 Ways for Local Advertisers to Gain Market Share as Customer Loyalty and Shopping Behavior Shift

The Story Behind Customer Loyalty and Shopping Behavior Shake-Ups

In times of economic uncertainty, consumer behaviors tend to shift. With tariffs, inflation and stagnation in wages, just about every American is pinching pennies.

These rising costs are the greatest influence on consumers becoming less brand loyal. A recent study on the topic yielded these insights:

• 36% of surveyed consumers said they are “very likely” to consider other brands.
• 40% said they are “somewhat likely” to do the same.
• Only 10% of consumers said they wouldn’t switch purely because of price.
• 66% of respondents said they’d move to another brand if the price difference is 20% or less.

Unconditional loyalty is scarce these days. The report also examined consumer trends within specific industries.

Apparel and Footwear

How are shoppers in this category changing? Waiting for sales and promotions to make a purchase ranked number one. These consumers are also open to brand switching, with 33% saying they’d do so for better pricing.

The survey also highlighted the rise of second-hand shopping for these items. Gen Z and Gen X were the groups most likely to be second-handers.

Grocery

Price increases at the grocery store have been a recurring complaint from consumers. Tariffs are affecting pricing here, too, so shoppers have to cut back. Many (40%) are switching to private label brands to reduce expenses.

These results demonstrate that local advertisers can gain market share. Let’s look at tactics and ideas to help them realize this.

4 Campaigns for Gaining Market Share

Each advertiser is unique, as are their audiences. These strategies can apply to many industries, depending on the motivation of the shopper.

For the Price Sensitive

For the group of consumers most likely to switch because of price, the competitor’s messaging has to be value-based and time-limited. This works well for grocery stores and restaurants.

Recommend tactics that get in front of consumers who can be swayed with a deal. One option is to geofence competitors with ads that have discounts.

Another option is email marketing as a service. Selling this expands the reach of companies beyond their database. With a highly targeted audience, your advertiser can present these folks with special promotions.

For the Unaware

You don’t want every campaign to be based solely on competing by price. There’s also an untapped audience your advertiser doesn’t have access to because they don’t have brand awareness.

With consistent, branded ads across tactics, including display and radio, potential customers get a recurring introduction. If they are curious and less brand loyal, it could lead to more people checking out their location or website.

For Those Holding Out for a Big Promo

As the study explained, consumers are deal hungry. If your advertisers sell similar items to the market leader, they could offer a promotion early. For example, maybe they have Black Friday pricing weeks before rather than waiting until the end of November.

They’ll want to advertise this in multiple channels to ensure target audiences see and hear it numerous times. The first to discount can have an advantage in winning holiday shoppers’ budget.

For the Searchers

Consumers head to search when looking for brands, even those they know already. As a result, there’s an opportunity to use SEM (search engine marketing) to get attention.

The approach is to be clever with competitive ads like the one below.

The keywords to bid on for such a campaign would be competitor names, and you can set the geotargeting for local ZIP codes.

Such an SEM plan creates awareness. It can also cause transactions if the ad includes a promotion.