Brand apathy growing among U.S. consumers

More than half (54%) of American consumers say they don’t pay attention to the brands they buy, as long as the product meets their needs, a new report found.

That’s according to the Consumer Products Engagement report from SAP Emarsys and Deloitte, which was released today at the Shoptalk conference in Las Vegas.

According to the report, a new engagement-driven landscape is taking shape, and success in this “Engagement Era” depends on a personalized omnichannel approach across the customer lifecycle. 
However, only 19% of brands excel in this engagement-driven environment, and the rest fall behind.

For some brands, it’s not a lack of capabilities that’s holding them back. The report found that 43% of consumer package (CP) brands say they can engage with customers in real-time, but only 26% are doing so.

Similarly, 35% of CP brands say they can predict future consumer behavior, but only 17% are doing so. 

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54% of U.S. consumers say they ignore brand names

Better engagement with consumers should help build brand loyalty. Without brand loyalty, consumer product purchases become a commodity.

The report found 57% of American consumers have switched to own-label brands because they are more affordable and 55% think the quality of own-label products is comparable to branded products.

In response to growing brand apathy, 88% of marketers say they need to overhaul their engagement strategies in 2025, the report found, but only 32% believe their company can effectively personalize marketing and only 24% are doing so.

The report is based on a survey of more than 2,000 U.S. consumers and 150 senior marketers at multinational brands.