Edelman: The Collapse of the Purchase Funnel

The Special Report “The Collapse of the Purchase Funnel” is based on data from 13,802 respondents surveyed from 01. were collected by May 12, 2023. Among other things, the results show that today’s buying relationships are too dynamic for a linear marketing funnel. The classic funnel that has defined the strategies of communications & brand managers for decades no longer works. There are various reasons for this: On the one hand, the purchase is no longer just the end point of the funnel, but rather the starting point for the relationship between the brand and the customer. For communicators and branders, this means that the purchase is the starting point for an interactive and collaborative customer journey. On the other hand, consumers do not behave according to the successive phases. The linear funnel also does not consider ongoing relationships and is predominantly transactional. The radical change in consumer behavior means that the linear model is being replaced by a cycle. This finding is also relevant to the CommTech WG’s stakeholder journey model and confirms the approach that the journey is not linear.

The report further shows that direct and ongoing interactions are critical for consumers*. They serve as reassurance in terms of trust in competence (69%), ethical behavior (51%) and relevance (51%) of the brand. Interaction with the brand thus becomes the gatekeeper for customer relations and trust. Moreover, trust is once again a crucial growth factor. It increases the likelihood of customer loyalty, fault tolerance, personal commitment to the brand and purchase. The full results are available free of charge.