6/27/2014
What’s In a Name?
Ann-Marie Vazzano
Not much anymore, at least in the eyes of many U.S. shoppers. According to a recent Deloitte study, 88% of consumers now prefer store brands over name brands and believe store brands are just as good as or better than comparable name-brand products. Less than one-third (31%) of respondents said they consider name brands to be “must have” items on their shopping list. There are, however, four categories in which consumers tend to be more brand loyal: beer, soft drinks, coffee and pet food. The categories in which they’re least loyal include bottled water, disposable paper products, food storage, deli meats, condiments and salty snacks.
“While consumers initially resented buying less expensive products out of necessity a few years ago, they have changed their tune,” says Pat Conroy, vice chairman, Deloitte LLP and U.S. Consumer Products leader. “They have shifted from a feeling of settling for lower priced brands to settling in to store brands distinguished by high quality.”
According to the study, 91% of shoppers say they have become more resourceful, too. Deloitte put consumers into four groups based on thriftiness:
- Super savers (26%)—enjoy the hunt for bargains and make a concentrated effort to use coupons.
- Sacrificers (19%)—more likely than others to switch to store brands; they report the lowest mean income among the consumer segments and likely have larger households.
- Planners (23%)—most focused on resourceful pantry management and planning ahead to make the most of their budgets.
- Spectators (32%)—the least affected by economic conditions, they are more likely to buy higher priced, trusted brand items rather than cheaper alternatives. GP