With the peak festive shopping season on the horizon, American Express has revealed its Loyalty League Table, highlighting how UK shoppers’ loyalty to retailers varies across the country.
American Express analysed responses from its survey of 2,000 consumers to create a loyalty ‘score’ for shoppers in 12 regions across the UK. Factors impacting the score included how many times respondents are willing to put up with bad experiences before choosing to shop elsewhere, how forgiving they are of poor service and the influence of things such as pricing, discounts and rewards.
Shoppers in London were found to top the Loyalty League Table, with the highest degree of retail loyalty, according to the analysis. Londoners, for example, say they have become more loyal to retailers over the past 12 months, with the capital’s shoppers the most likely to forgive poor service. They were also more likely than others to rank brand reputation and customer experience ahead of pricing and promotions. Shoppers in the South East and West Midlands similarly scored highly on the loyalty league table.
Conversely, at the foot of the table, the analysis found shoppers in the East of England and North East to be the least forgiving of poor experiences either in-store or online, and less likely to spend again with the same retailer as a result. What mattered most to shoppers in these regions was the price of items.
American Express’s UK Consumer Loyalty League Table
| 1 | London |
| 2 | South East |
| 3 | West Midlands |
| 4 | Northern Ireland |
| 5 | Scotland |
| 6 | East Midlands |
| 7 | Yorkshire and Humberside |
| 8 | Wales |
| 9 | South West |
| 10 | North East |
| 11 | North West |
| 12 | East of England |
The countdown to Christmas is underway and shoppers are thinking carefully about where to spend their money. While pricing and discounts remain important, our research shows that shoppers are influenced by a whole range of factors with customer experience hugely important. For retailers, a one-size-fits-all approach to loyalty won’t prove effective.
– Dan Edelman, Vice President and UK General Manager, Merchant Services, American Express
Separate research from American Express released last month calculated shoppers had already spent £1.7 billion on the festive season this year, demonstrating the importance of the occasion with consumers flocking to the high street for festive purchases.
