Chinese shoppers less loyal to brands

Customers make payments at a duty-free shop in Sanya, Hainan province. [Photo/China Daily]

Sun Tianzhen, spokeswoman for Hsu Fu Chi International Ltd, a candy maker, said the findings can give companies hints about how to become stronger competitors.

"Chinese people show a lot of variety in their food tastes," she said. "To inspire shoppers with brand loyalty, you have to constantly improve the quality of the food you are selling and introduce new products with fresh flavors."

Sun said it is very important to communicate with shoppers when they are in stores. To that end, the company has set up television sets in stores and used them to inform shoppers about its production lines and food safety.

Strong loyalty

Chinese shoppers meanwhile tend to exhibit strong brand loyalty when they buy infant formula, baby diapers, milk, beer, carbonated soft drinks and chewing gum, the study found.

Wang Jing, the mother of a 1-year-old, always purchases the same foreign brand of formula milk and same brand of diapers.

"There might be a risk in trying a new brand of milk powder or new brand of diapers," said Wang, 33. "As long as my son is comfortable with what he's using now, I'm not going to switch."

Another Bain study looked at shoppers who routinely buy infant products and found that such people often have no compelling reason to change brands. Babies, it explained, usually are incapable of opining about a product and mothers tend to think using the same brand over and over again benefits their child's health.

For that reason, a company should try to ensure that shoppers are familiar with its brand as soon as they start shopping for a particular product it sells.

And the strategy should be similar for companies that sell goods for which brand loyalty tends to be stronger. They also should try to encourage shoppers to try their brands first and try to ensure that their brands are easy to find in stores, Lannes said.

"Winning brands are those that are better at recruiting new shoppers day-in and day-out, and that keep increasing the number of shoppers who buy their goods," he said.

Lin Shuang, a maker of traditional Chinese dresses, said she dislikes change.

"If I find a brand I like, I stay with it," she said. "But most of the time, people are forced to change brands because they aren't satisfied with what they are buying now."

wangzhuoqiong@chinadaily.com.cn