It used to be grocery store brands “once carried a stigma.” They were reserved for those who were forced to seek them out out of necessity, given a smaller budget. Since the recession, however, sales of store brands among a variety of customer segments has actually skyrocketed. This was due to a “forced frugality” many shoppers felt compelled to adopt when uncertainty hit. Even since the recession, though, store brands’ popularity don’t seem to be on the decline.
Janet Eden Harris, the senior VP of Market Force Information, divulges “[s]ometimes I think [consumers] don’t actually know what is a store brand.” Nevertheless, with “96 percent” of consumers in a recent survey admitting they purchased private-label brands “at least some of the time,” whether they know it is a store brand or not, the important thing is that they are buying it.
“We expect private brands will continue to grab share year over year because of investments they’ve made in enhancing quality, innovation and … marketing and promotion[.]” This is a quote from Todd Hale, VP of consumer and shopper insights at Nielsen (a global information and measurement company). The thing to watch now is whether or not his prediction comes true.
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