Reasons to buy from favorite brand's competitor

Reasons why shoppers would make a purchase from a competitor of their favorite brand in the United States in 2024

Characteristic	Share of respondents
Lower prices	69.4%
Better product quality	62.96%
Better customer service	24.37%
Loyalty program/perks for repeat customers	24.37%
Faster shipping	23.59%
Free returns	18.91%
Verified reviews and referrals from others	17.54%
More sustainable practices	8.77%
Easier/quicker checkout process	8.58%
Better mobile app/website	7.6%
VIP services	4.48%
None of these	0.97%
There is nothing a competitor can offer	1.36%

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Release date

June 2024

More information

Region

United States

Survey time period

March 2024

Number of respondents

513 respondents

Age group

18 years and older

Special properties

Online shoppers

Supplementary notes

During the survey, the questions were phrased as follows: From the list below, what are the top 3 reasons why you would buy from a competitor of your favorite brand? (Please select up to 3)

Date of publication is the date of access.

Citation formats

According to a survey conducted in March 2024 among online shoppers, nearly 70 percent of consumers in the United States said they would choose to buy from a competitor of their favorite brand if it offered lower prices, while around 63 percent would do so for better product quality. Around a quarter of respondents would also choose the brand that offered better customer service, and 17 percent of shoppers would follow a verified review or recommendation. 

How shoppers respond to poor customer service

Receiving poor customer service was enough to make online shoppers in the United States stop shopping with a brand in 2024. However, switching brands was not the only action that shoppers took. Poor survey ratings and bad reviews were other popular ways for shoppers to respond to poor customer service.

The importance of word of mouth

Bad reviews had the potential to be especially harmful to a brand in 2024 because many shoppers regularly recommended brands to their family and friends that year. The vast majority of consumers in the United States trusted product recommendations from their friends and family, and reviewers were the second most trusted source of product recommendations in 2024.