In any discussion about the cost of living, someone will always stand up and remind us that part of the blame lies with us, the consumers. Why can't we be a little more like the Americans (for example) who collect coupons, buy dry food in bulk, and boycott those who raise prices?

And another will say: Why did you have to go all the way to the US? Look at the Ultra–Orthodox here in Israel! Is it expensive for them? They don't buy. Only we cry and pay, pay and cry.

So I am here to say that even if there is some justice (and there is!) to these claims, there is also a wiser consumer side to what is perceived here as the Israeli consumer's sucker behavior. It is called brand loyalty.

Loyalty, even if not at any cost, is a blessed trait – in life in general and also in its consumer aspect. It is not always acquired under the right circumstances, because we, the Israelis, have a special affection for brands. If we bought a shirt from a specific and well–known company, we love the brand name and its logo on the chest, in giant letters – otherwise how will everyone know that I have enough money for a branded shirt?

There will be those who argue that this is a nouveau riche habit, meaning of a newly rich person, one who tries to buy style with money without understanding that every flashing brand only distances him further from the realms of good taste. Maybe, but that is only because we are a nouveau–riche nation: Until not long ago, we wore blue–grey work clothes by Ata here (before it became a fashionable brand) for five days a week and a white collared shirt in honor of Shabbat, so let us go a bit wild! We also replace vehicles at a dizzying pace, even though car prices here are dramatically high relative to almost any country in the world, and we also fly abroad more to show the Gentiles that the People of Israel Live.

On one side of the "brand loyalty coin" is written sucker, but on its other side there is actually a wise consumer who is loyal to the brand because of values such as reliability, excellence, innovation, fairness – and a few other traits that brands try to adopt for themselves, at least for appearance's sake.

Thus, for example, there are not a few among us who will not put pasta into their mouth unless it is from the brand packed in a blue cardboard box – and will not purchase for the other side of the digestive system toilet paper unless it is the one with the embossed illustration of puppies. Why? Well, sometimes "just because" is a legitimate answer: We bought in the past, we experienced, we saw that it was good – and a relatively minor gap in price against the competitors will not cause us to abandon the team.

Not everyone of course, and it is not always a matter of wise consumerism that implements the rule according to which he who buys cheap might pay dearly. I will give you an example from a field close to my heart: Food processors. I am quite a cook and I learned that in everything related to electrical kitchen equipment, it is sometimes better to pay a few shekels more than to be required to make repeat purchases that will ultimately accumulate to a higher sum.

Of course this is a relative truth and not an absolute truth. Sometimes we pay more for a product identical in its quality, only because of the branding. So where does the line cross? It is very difficult to draw it accurately, because you will not believe how many emotions accompany even the purchase of the most basic food products.

Want an example? Sure: Take the neon–pink shopping bag of Rami Levy. Without knowing you personally, I am sure that at least 90% percent of you have the exact image in your head. Now let us check what you feel towards it. And here it is already harder for me to bet on percentages, but on the other hand it is easy to bet on conflicting trends. Why?
Because now you divide into two camps (with almost no third camp of "those without an opinion"氏): Those who have a few such shopping bags at home and those who would rather die than be caught possessing such a bag. Such is human nature: We are not always confident enough in ourselves not to need reinforcements in the form of brands that testify about us.

Therefore, for example, only luxury car brands stick on the replacement vehicles provided at their garages to whoever handed over his luxurious vehicle for treatment, stickers of "replacement vehicle": Whoever drives a Hyundai will not feel a loss of dignity if he is forced to drive for a few days in a Kia. On the other hand – whoever likes to be seen in a BMW, needs them to stick the said sticker at the garage on the Mitsubishi they provided him for the coming days, lest a neighbor or colleague heaven forbid see him and think he lost his assets...

I am pretty sure there are those among the readers who think to themselves: We are not like that. Unfortunately, only one (at best) out of every ten is indeed like that. All the rest (including myself, I will not deny it) are influenced by advertising and branding.

Want more proof? Sure, why not: Which of you has at least one pair of sneakers? Presumably almost everyone. Who can explain to me about manufacturing technologies, the raw materials from which the shoes are made and so on? Almost no one. Which of you has shoes manufactured by Nike, Adidas, Puma, Asics, New Balance, Reebok, Saucony, Brooks, Hoka and their likes? Almost everyone, right?

Don't worry, only two more questions and we are done: Which of you has sneakers manufactured by Gali?

What's wrong, why are you laughing?

Laughter aside, because we have reached the final question: Who among those who did not answer in the affirmative regarding Gali, is capable of explaining to me the technological–orthopedic differences between Gali and one of the imported brands that I mentioned?

This is the stage where I was supposed to drop the microphone and leave as a winner, but I will not fulfill my duty unless I qualify and say that even if brand loyalty sometimes has real positive sides such as quality, reliability and the like, it is certainly not at any cost: Because a brand too can harm its customers, and in such a case – a bit like loyalty that was violated in life itself – it will discover that it is difficult (and sometimes even impossible) to restore the trust.