The overwhelming majority of consumers in the UAE say they are less loyal to brands now than they were two years ago.
A report released by ServiceNow, a digital workflow company, reveals the factors that influence the success of brand loyalty.
“What really stands out is that more consumers than ever expect their brands to really know them and cater to their personal preferences.” said Ali Kaddoura, Country Manager, GCC, at ServiceNow.
Researchers found 79 per cent of the population said it was important that brands were consistently aware of shoppers’ purchasing habits. A total of 86 per cent said companies should remember their preferred communication channel.
The majority called for the offering of personalised discounts and urged brands to display tailored recommendations during an engagement session.
“Given the tech-savvy propensity of the UAE consumer base, we found it interesting that consumers here had a technology-based incentive to be loyal to a brand,” said Kaddoura.
He advised brands in the UAE to look to the two top-ranked sectors for customer experience – healthcare and government.
“Consider the UAE government’s implementation of the trusted identity system, UAE Pass, or its response to the Covid crisis, starting with the management of lockdowns and culminating in the app-driven rollout of vaccines, all driven by technology.” he added.
“It is really heartening to see that we humans, in some way, are coming to realise that we are all consumers, but we are also all employees. We can’t just provide exceptional experiences to consumers.
“We must also make sure our internal ‘consumers’ are happy whether that is through better salary and benefits, or through better technology and resources, or through better development opportunities.
“Nowadays, if you ignore any of this, your brand loyalty will suffer. The data tells us so,” said Mark Ackerman, Area VP for the Middle East and Africa at ServiceNow.
