Repeat purchases do not define loyalty

Complacency vs Choice

I’ve been in marketing for over 25 years, so it takes a lot to get my attention; complacency is not something you would think would stop my scroll.

Here’s what stopped me. According to Edelman research, 42% of Gen Z say they secretly use some brands to avoid stigma. AKA: They are buying the product, but they are hiding the fact that they use it. Peer pressure in my day was to avoid drugs; now 41% have stopped using a brand because of peer pressure rather than their own conviction.

Jackie Cooper, co-founder of Edelman’s Gen Z Lab, put it plainly in Fast Company this week: repeat purchase alone cannot define loyalty.

Why should you care? It’s not just about what 22-year-olds are facing; most companies have complacent clients—customers who keep coming back, never say your name out loud, and may even talk bad behind your back while still showing up.

Showing up and choosing you are different things

Customers come back for one of two reasons: Either they chose you, or choosing differently is too much work.

Gen X does not stay loyal to a brand out of habit or flash marketing. They expect consistency, fairness in pricing, quality, and smooth execution. With powerful spending power, they are a generation to consider and keep happy, not just satisfied.

Banks are the classic example. Plenty of people have had the same bank for over twenty years, yet if you ask them if they like their bank, you find they are not fans. We stay because changing our auto-payments, payroll, and linked accounts is a lot of work, and we don’t dislike our bank enough to go through that effort, but we also won’t recommend our banks to anyone else. In behavioral economics, we call it sludge. Status quo bias does the rest. The banks know it; to them, it looks like loyalty.

The trouble with default customers is what they don’t do. They don’t refer you,

because they never really picked you in the first place. And they’re more likely to complain about you to anyone who’ll listen without ever actually leaving. You keep the revenue and lose the reputation, one backyard barbecue at a time.

Who are they actually loyal to?

Realtors figured this out a long time ago. Clients are loyal to their agent, not the brokerage. When a top agent moves offices, the clients follow; this is why I have always told my Realtor friends to build their brand on their own, not tied to their brokerage — and why the brokerage says otherwise.

In another form, let’s look at Nike. In 2020, it started severing relationships with its wholesalers, and fewer retailers carried its brands, with Nike betting that customers would show their loyalty by buying direct through Nike stores and its app.

Marathon Handbook argues that move cut runners off from the specialty-store staff who used to put Nikes on their feet. The sales team in the targeted stores recommended Nike’s shoes. Pulling out meant other brands were sold. On grew from about $330 million in revenue in fiscal 2020 to $3.71 billion in fiscal 2025. Hoka went from about $352 million to $2.2 billion. Nike grew about 24% over the same stretch.

Those runners had bought Nike for years, suddenly tried a new brand; the sales team made alternative suggestions. The retailers made a difference.

Familiar isn’t the same as wanted

We all know Lululemon; many of us likely still have a pair of pants, a bra, or a sweatshirt from the brand in our closet. We still turn our heads when we walk by the store, out of habit; sometimes we browse, out of habit or curiosity, but our loyalty has wavered.

Comparable sales of Lululemon fell 9% in its second quarter and 12% in the US, as emerging competitors like Alo, Vuori, and others gained ground. Retail consultant Bethany Paris Ramsay summed it up for Inside Retail: “awareness and relevance are not the same thing.”

Many of us are ‘comfortable customers’. Familiar with the brand but easily swayed by the next new brand.

Habit isn’t the enemy

Habit is great; it can be leveraged, and we want to be the habit of our customers. I simply want you to consider building relationships with customers, not just habits.

At a local mechanic, we used habit stacking: tying the seasonal tire swap to the oil change people were already coming in for. This is a great way to use a habit and make it a benefit. One visit set up the next. Repeat visits build a routine, and with this client, that routine built trust. Over time, that trust becomes a brand people actually talk about, refer, and appreciate beyond the routine.

The difference is what you do with each connection point with your clients. A habit can grow into a relationship; the relationship can build into trust, which can lead to referrals.

So what do you want from your customers?

The big question is: What happens after the sale? Would customers recommend you without an incentive? Would they defend you to a friend or on social media? Would they be seen with you? What happens when you make a mistake?

Are your customers choosing you, or choosing to avoid a hassle?

If you’re not sure, here’s where I’d start:

• Follow the referrals. If your longest-standing customers send you nobody, pay attention.

• Ask who the relationship is with. A person, a location, a product? What happens if that changes tomorrow?

• Compare how you treat old and new. If new customers get the best offers and long-timers get hold music, you’re training the loyalty right out of them.

• Find your sludge. If the hardest part of doing business with you is leaving, people notice. And they talk.

Repeat business is good business. Just don’t mistake it for a fan club. The goal is to get chosen again, on purpose, every time they come back.