• by Steve McClellan  @mp_mcclellan, January 9, 2017

A new study from Wunderman, the WPP digital agency, found that 79% of consumers ages 18-65 in the U.S. say brands must actively demonstrate “they understand and care about me” before they consider purchasing.

The work was conducted in partnership with Penn Schoen Berland, also part of WPP. 

The agencies concluded that brands like Amazon, Uber and Netflix have set new standards of excellence when it comes to serving consumers. It raises expectations for similar service across the entire spectrum of brands. 

“With expectations at an all-time high, brands are required to operate in consumer culture and not just within their own category,” stated Jamie Gutfreund, global CMO of Wunderman.

“It used to be that brands had the luxury of customers conforming to their business models, which worked for many years. But the tables have turned. Today, consumers expect businesses to adapt to their needs and our findings are consistent across all generations, geographies and genders,”  Gutfreund added.

Per the research, brands today must do more than just provide a good quality product or service. Some 88% of American respondents say brands must “push boundaries” in order to be considered. 

Other findings from the study include: 

• 90% of American consumers believe mobile empowers them to make better purchase decisions.
• 89% of American consumers say that they are loyal to brands that share their values.
• 74% of consumers in the U.S. say that brands can set a new standard by how they serve customers (in other words they don’t have to just offer a new product).

More from the study can be found here.