Consumers who have been driven by the recession to purchase private label goods plan to continue buying private brands once the recession ends, according to findings of a U.S. consumer survey done in June exclusively for PL Buyer.
Asked how they would complete the sentence, “when the economic recession is over, I will be buying..,” 81 percent of the 1,100 consumers surveyed say they will be purchasing the same amount of store brands as before the recession ended. Segmenting the respondents by income, the survey finds 83 percent of those making more than $50,000 in annual income say they will be buying the same amount of private label products after the recession, while 79 percent of those making less than $50,000 say they will be buying the same amount of private label goods.
Price is the major driver of private label purchase, the PL Buyer survey finds, with 93 percent of all respondents saying they buy private label because the products are less expensive than national brand products.
While it’s doubtful most retailers would want to copy Trader Joe’s Hawaiian-shirt-wearing employee dress code or start putting grass huts in their aisles, they can learn some important lessons on how to make their private label lines as appealing to consumers as are Trader Joe’s, retail experts agree.
You might think the recession’s impact would dramatically affect a vulnerable category such as gourmet and specialty foods, complete with plummeting sales and disappearing consumers abandoning their favorite premium-positioned specialties. But the reality is quite different, actually.
Somewhere along the line, people have come to equate sustainability solely with environmental responsibility. But sustainability goes well beyond green initiatives.
Made up of food and beverage categories that saw dollar sales across food, drug and mass merchandise outlets (excluding Walmart) expand 10 percent or more during the 52 weeks ending Jan. 24, the 2010 Private Label Hot List actually includes fewer categories than last year’s version (126 vs. 146).
Whether they are savvy with chopsticks or prefer to use a knife and fork, many consumers these days love Asian foods. And many Asian dishes not only offer exotic flavors and ingredients, but also make a healthful alternative to typical American fare such as cheeseburgers, pizza and oh-so-many deep-fried foods.
7-Eleven,
PL Buyer's 2010 Retailer of the Year, is adapting quite well to the many recent changes in the convenience store channel. Alongside
the national brands, the retailer offers a wide variety of private label
choices that appeal to more value-conscious — but still quality-hungry —
consumers.
Despite the fact that the Great Recession stretched into a second year in 2009, food manufacturers were delighted to report that dollar sales actually edged up a few points over the 52 weeks ending Nov. 29, as cash-strapped consumers opted to cook for themselves at home rather than eat out. Unfortunately, reports Chicago-based Information Resources Inc. (IRI), the gains did not extend to non-foods.
