Brand reputation could suffer because of falling living standards

This article is available for reading in Trade magazin 2024/5

All indicators measuring customer satisfaction have fallen over the past year. Consumers feel brands aren’t fully meeting their expectations, but this symptom is the result of a complex set of effects. Customer experience has been positively influenced by the pandemic, but now service providers are back to pre-pandemic business as usual, which may disappoint many customers.

Rising inflation has had a huge impact on consumers worldwide, with the survey finding that inflation and the rising cost of living has affected the purchasing decisions of 97% of shoppers, with one in four being very much affected. Despite this a significant proportion of people are still willing to pay more for products from companies that share their values: 48% say they are would pay more to ethical companies, and despite growing price sensitivity only 7% say they don’t care about this factor at all.

Personalisation is more than contents or tailoring products to customer needs; it is about making them feel valued, important and unique. “In KPMG’s CEO Outlook 2023 survey, 7 out of 10 business leaders have identified AI as a top investment target, with a significant proportion of these expected to be in the customer service area”, added Erika Halász, KPMG’s head of strategy and operations management consulting. //