Apple "inspires" shoppers

NEW YORK: Apple, Walmart and Google are the brand owners which US shoppers regard as being the most "inspiring", a group that also includes Target and Microsoft.

Performance Inspired, the consultancy, asked 2,175 adults to name the five companies they perceived as meeting this criteria, with Apple, the electronics pioneer, retaining the top spot it occupied in 2011.

"Apple is the most inspiring again this year because it has become a part of the consumer's personal identity," said Terry Barber, chief inspiration officer for Performance Inspired.

The main terms associated with Apple included the fact it was "innovative", "fun" and let customers be more "creative". Many participants also felt "victorious" after the firm's court victory over Samsung in August.

Walmart, the retailer, took second, and was praised for its low prices, diverse range of products and friendly atmosphere. Google, the online giant, claimed third, and was seen as "informative", "good" and "nice".

Target, another retailer, was fourth, aided by the contribution its makes to the local communities it serves. Microsoft, the IT group, completed the top five, not least as respondents valued its products at work.

Amazon, the internet retailer, was sixth, ahead of Chick-fil-A, the restaurant chain which has been embroiled in recent controversy concerning the alleged views of leading executives about same-sex marriage.

"Over the last three years since we've been doing this research, Chick-fil-A has always shown up as being very inspiring, so it just makes sense that there is a lot of equity and trust built up here and no doubt, they are leveraging some of that good equity during these times," Barber said.

Starbucks, the coffee house chain, McDonald's, the quick service restaurant operator, and Coca-Cola, the soft drinks manufacturer, made up the top ten.

In all, 86% of interviewees would recommend a company they found "inspiring" to friends and family, while 92% discussed their positive experiences with these groups. Another 71% of the sample were willing to pay a premium for goods offered by such firms.

A further 54% of contributors thought about the organisation they found "most inspiring" at least once a week, and 38% talked about them with a similar level of frequency.

"Consumers are not only feeling inspired by certain businesses, but are acting inspired by spending more with these companies while evangelizing to others about their inspiring experience," said Barber.

Data sourced from Performance Inspired/Forbes; additional content by Warc staff, 2 October 2012

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