Shoppers Say Brands Make ‘Empty Promises’

Shoppers Say Brands Make ‘Empty Promises’

October 2020

Even if life returns to a pre-pandemic “normal,” shoppers the world over will still be stockpiling toilet paper. Buying in bulk “is here to stay,” a survey of 1,600 participants conducted in May by Momentum Worldwide has found.

Three in four (76%) respondents say they now prefer to buy such household items “in larger formats.” This is true not just in the U.S., the U.K., and Canada, but in Europe, the Middle East and Asia as well.

Of greater relevance to public affairs professionals is this finding: Almost all shoppers (93%) like to see big brands “give back to the community where they operate.” Almost as many consumers (87%) say seeing companies going above and beyond “has improved their perception” of them, and 82% intend to buy from brands that demonstrate a commitment to the public good.

But here’s the kicker: A considerable majority of shoppers (78%) say that so many brands are being good corporate citizens that “it’s hard to remember the specific brands,” and 64% say companies are “flooding them with empty promises.”