The results of a new survey conducted by Acquia indicate that shoppers are likely to stop giving their custom to a particular brand if they are hit by just a single bad experience when engaging with the retailer, product or service in question.

76 per cent of those questioned in the study said that they would happily jump ship and start using a competing brand if a problem occurs with a brand to which they were previously loyal.

52 per cent said that they saw themselves as being willing to offer brands a lifetime of loyalty after their first positive engagement, although this contradicts the claims covered so far.

The most common reason for a consumer to adopt a negative opinion on a brand is that their needs have not been met as part of a particular interaction. Two-thirds of respondents said that they felt there was not enough personalisation available to them when using safe shopping online or encountering digital marketing materials.

78 per cent said that their loyalty would be greater if a brand was able to show that their requirements were being taken into account, and 64 per cent said that this should be handled automatically, without requiring that they explicitly tell companies what they want to get out of an interaction.

This suggests that consumer expectations are being shaped by the increased potency of online marketing tools that track browsing habits and tailor content according to this data. While there are concerns surrounding privacy, most people seem happy for companies to leverage the information that they have available to improve the experience, make it more customisable and reflect the needs they have as individuals rather than veering towards the generic end of the spectrum.