The news: Consumers’ brand loyalty is shaped by peer influence and social media, per CivicScience.

• 36% of US adults called social media one of the most influential advertising channels in 2025, more than any other channel and up from 21% in 2020.
• 56% of consumers who call themselves brand loyalists say friends and contacts on social media factor into the products they purchase at least a little, compared with 31% in 2020.
• 49% of consumers like to tell others—including friends, family, and acquaintances—about new brands, an increase from 42%.

Still, brand affinity isn’t exclusive: 85% of brand loyalists are loyal to more than one brand across multiple categories.

What it means: Social media’s rising influence over purchases means brand visibility depends heavily on what a consumer’s own network is surfacing and saying. Word-of-mouth recommendations both amplify brand visibility and reinforce loyalty through social signaling.

• The high rate at which loyalists rely on friends for purchase influence shows that brands need to treat everyday users as a distribution channel.
• Programs that encourage existing customers to talk about products, including referral rewards or easily shareable content, can extend reach in addition to paid social.

However, spread-out brand affinity shows that even consumers who consider themselves loyal to a brand tend to split their attention and spending across competitors; social activity may build brand awareness more than it locks in allegiance to a single brand.

Recommendations for brands: Treat customer loyalty as a resource for consumers to talk about and return to, even when also buying from competitors. Word-of-mouth recommendations can expand brand visibility regardless of exclusivity, making first-time purchase incentives valuable for attracting curious new customers.

Watch how these trends hold up as social platforms face pressure from regulatory bodies around their algorithms and the effects of shifting user behavior.

Finally, brands still investing primarily in paid advertising channels should reassess their spending balance to account for the weight that peer networks carry in influencing purchases.

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