Here's a data point that should terrify every incumbent brand: during the early pandemic stockouts, consumers were forced to try whatever was available instead of their preferred brands. When their preferred brands came back in stock, a significant percentage of those consumers didn't switch back. They discovered that the alternative was fine. Maybe even better.
Here's a data point that should terrify every incumbent brand: during the early pandemic stockouts, consumers were forced to try whatever was available instead of their preferred brands.
Brand loyalty was always partially built on inertia. The cost of switching (finding a new brand, evaluating it, deciding) was high enough that most people just... didn't. They bought what they always bought because it was easy and good enough. The pandemic eliminated that inertia by making their usual choice unavailable.
This has massive implications. Every incumbent brand just had a forced trial of their competitors by their own customers. And some of those customers aren't coming back. The loyalty you thought you had was actually just habit, and habits can break.
The brands that retained customers through the disruption are the ones where the loyalty was real, built on genuine preference rather than convenience. If your customers came back without being incentivized, congratulations: they actually like you. If they didn't come back, you learned something important about what your 'brand equity' actually was.
Barnaby has zero brand loyalty. He eats whatever food is available with equal enthusiasm. I used to find this concerning but now I think he's just a rational pandemic-era consumer.