“To say that anybody has an emotional response to any marketing expression is the highest praise one might receive,” said Nicolas Chidiac, chief strategy officer at Razorfish. “But the reality is it’s a significantly harder reality to materialize.”

The gap between belief and consumer behavior is wider than many realize.

• Nearly two-thirds (65%) of marketers believe repeat buyers return because of brand love, found a new report from Razorfish and GWI.
• Yet, in most categories, fewer than 1 in 4 say love for a brand drives repeat purchase. Instead, practical considerations like convenience and satisfaction with the product are the primary drivers.

“Marketers are looking at repeat purchases without a real understanding of the drivers,” Chidiac said. “We have a romanticized view of the role emotion plays.”

Loyalty is conditional

Brands that once relied on brand affinity are being disrupted by competitors offering better experiences or prices, said Chidiac.

• “Take automotive, for example,” he said. “This has been a category that believed people had deep emotional attachment to their car brands… then new automakers entered with impressive products, and despite having little brand recognition, they quickly changed the competitive landscape.”
• In fact, 55% of consumers would switch to another car brand if their preferred model was discontinued, according to the Razorfish and GWI data.

Tariffs will only chip away at brand loyalty.

When asked how tariffs would affect their next car purchase, nearly 90% of respondents said they would change their behavior, either by buying American (35%), delaying their purchase (33%), or choosing a second-hand vehicle (21%), found the report.

When consumers feel the imbalance

There’s a growing sense among consumers that they’re giving more to brands than they’re getting back, Razorfish's data indicates.

“This is a real concern, and something we’re calling a ‘loyalty deficit,’” said Chidiac. “And we’re seeing it in critical industries such as banks, mobile, and automotive.”

For brands, loyalty works best when it’s a two-way relationship.

• “Ask your customers if they make a sacrifice to stay loyal to your brand and then ask them if they believe you’re making a sacrifice to keep that loyalty,” said Chidiac.
• The gap between those responses often signals that a relationship is beginning to weaken, which can be validated through hard data like declining email engagement and rising negative sentiment on social media.

Building lasting loyalty

Earning loyalty today requires a balance of practical value and emotional intelligence. Here’s how to make it last.

• Build useful loyalty programs. Over half (56%) of consumers are still willing to download an app if the rewards feel valuable, found the report. Soft perks, like early access or exclusive experiences, rank as highly motivating as discounts.
• Expand beyond your ecosystem. Some 54% of consumers say the best perks are those that span categories or brands.
• Show empathy in vulnerable moments. Brands like Chewy win lasting affection not through birthday freebies, but through gestures like sending condolences when a pet passes away.
• Be intentional with AI. AI should scale humanity, not replace it, said Chidiac. “The brands that win won’t be the ones with the most automation, but the ones that use AI to make their people more present, more informed, and more capable of delivering care at scale.”

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