Do we “own” our customers?

We often like to think we “own” our customers. 

That “our” buyers are totes not like “their” buyers. 

Coke vs Pepsi. Coach vs Chanel. Home Depot vs Lowe's. 

But it mostly ain’t so.

This here is a ‘duplication of purchase table’ (gag). 

It shows that brands share customers. A LOT.

AND they do so PREDICTABLY based on how big they are.

F’rinstance, ~90% of buyers of all brands also eat at McDonald’s. 

But only ~20% of any brand’s diners also eat at Hardee’s.

This makes some intuitive sense: McD’s is a huge brand compared to Hardee’s.

But this also flies in the face of long-held beliefs that “my” buyers are different from “your” buyers. In all kinds of categories.

Some lessons:

🔸 Cross-purchase is NORMAL. Get used to it.

🔸 Use a cross-purchase table to gauge sharing in your category.

🔸 Look for deviations from expected sharing — given brands’ sizes.