Nielsen: Quality can encourage Filipinos to switch brands

Ensuring high quality products and services could be the most effective way to encourage Filipino consumers to switch brands, according to a new report from Nielsen.Around five in 10 (51%) respondents from the Philippines said they would switch to an alternative brand, service or retailer if it was of better quality - the highest quality sensitivity in the region.“Filipino consumers placed the highest premium on quality while the rest of the consumers in Southeast Asia also gave importance to quality—higher than the global average,” says Stuart Jamieson, Managing Director of Nielsen Philippines.“This emphasizes the shifting focus of consumers as incomes increase and their purchase drivers move away from price alone,” he adds.While there is a  gradual swing of priorities from price to quality, Nielsen data points that bargain prices is still as compelling as ever in other markets. For instance, Singaporean and Vietnamese consumers showed the highest price sensitivity with 52%.Why it pays to have loyalty programsAt the heart of Nielsen’s latest Global Survey of Loyalty Sentiment is the importance of loyalty programs and brand categories with the most devoted consumers.It found that consumers in the Philippines are most loyal to mobile phone brands and mobile service providers among 16 categories, an allegiance also shared by five other Southeast Asia countries in the study including Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.Health and medical products, and personal computer products also secured high levels of loyalty from Filipino respondents while alcoholic beverages and online retailers got the lowest scores.In as much as quality can win new consumers, Nielsen also showed the importance of keeping existing ones happy with positive figures on the value of loyalty programs.Ninety-one percent of respondents from the Philippines, Malaysia, and Singapore said they were more likely to shop at a retailer that reward with purchase incentives. Vietnam and Thailand consumers were most enticed by loyalty programs, with 94% and 92% respectively.“These programs are influencing consumers’ choice of store… Through these loyalty programs retailers can customize their offers to individual customer needs, thereby increasing the frequency of visits to their stores as well as the amount spent,” Jamieson said.Discounted or free products is most welcome to 85% of Filipino respondents when asked about the benefit they like most to receive from loyalty programs, followed by enhanced customer service in secomd place.In the Philippines, 61% said that loyalty programs were available in stores where they shopped while it is most prevalent in Thailand and Vietnam with 69% respondents who claimed to see such campaigns.Globally, 59% of consumers said retailer loyalty programs were available at the stores where they shopped and 84% they were more likely to shop at a retailer that offers a loyalty program.