Life Imitating Blog - Brand Loyalty

I am about to substitute out of a brand I've been with for 5 years because of price and price only. I'm switching from T-mobile to Sprint's Simply Everything plan. The Simply Everything Plan undercuts it's competition by about $50 bucks. That's a big deal for a college student.

You might think I'm a little weird, but this is a major issue to me. I like T-mobile a lot. I like their brand, and the customer service has been spectacular over the past 5 years. I've even convinced a few of my friends to switch to T-mobile.

In addition, I'm a creature of habit. I feel like I'm gambling by switching to another carrier.

Where am I going with this? It all reminds me of these two posts about being brand loyal on my personal blog. The latest blog mentions a Wall Street Journal article that talks about how people are increasingly dropping brand loyalty in favor of frugality.

So I want to explore this topic a little more and pose two questions.

What are the implications for marketers as customers increasingly substitute out of brands in favor of frugality?

Is there anything they can do?