91% of shoppers will keep buying store brands after recession ends

Private Label Manufacturers Association says store brand growth will continue
-- Packaging Digest, 6/29/2009 3:34:00 PM
New consumer polling data shows that an overwhelming majority of U.S. supermarket shoppers will continue purchasing store brand products after the recession is over.

A poll conducted this month by GfK Custom Research North America for the Private Label Manufacturers Association reports that 91% of shoppers say they will keep buying store brand products after the recession ends. Conversely, only 8% of the consumer polled said they will stop buying these products.

The quality of store brand products is a big factor in convincing shoppers to keep buying them. The GfK poll found that 9 of every 10 shoppers agree that the store brand products they buy are just as good as, or better than, national brand products.

This positive experience makes shoppers eager for an even greater assortment of store brand products from which to choose. Nearly half of consumers polled said they wanted their supermarket to carry a greater assortment of private label products.

GfK found that the recession is still having a big impact on shoppers:

• Nearly three-fourths (74%) of them say the recession is an important factor in their decision-making.

• Well into the recession, shoppers are still switching to store brands. The poll found that 35% of shoppers are trying store brand products in categories where they had previously only purchased national brand items.

• More than 3 of every 10 shoppers say they are now buying more store brand products than they were a year ago.

These are some of the results included in PLMA’s ongoing study, “Store Brands and The Recession,” based on GfK’s nationwide poll of nearly 800 main household grocery shoppers.

This latest research in the study was co-sponsored by Marketing Management Inc., Ft. Worth, Texas, a sales and marketing company that specializes in store brands.

PLMA has published a series of reports on store brands every five years since the early 1980s. The last was conducted by the Ipsos-MORI organization in 2006.

Source: Private Label Manufacturers Association

Store brands still being fueled by slow economy, says new study

-- Packaging Digest, 4/13/2010 12:52:58 PM
By a sizeable margin, American consumers appear to be at odds with recent reports that the economy has improved. A new nationwide study reveals that more than eight out of ten supermarket shoppers see no improvement in the economy, and forty percent actually believe things have gotten worse. As consumers continue to cope, the study affirms, the appeal of store brand products is stronger than ever and may even be intensifying.


The findings are based on a poll of nearly 800 main household grocery shoppers conducted in February 2010 by GfK Custom Research North America for the Private Label Manufacturers Association, New York. The full report, entitled Recession, Recovery and Store Brands: What Consumers Are Saying Now, is available for download at http://cli.gs/PLMAGfKRpt.

Among the GfK study highlights:

For most American shoppers, the recovery has yet to begin.
Asked whether the economy has changed over the past few months, 40% said conditions were worse, while another 42% said things have stayed the same. Fewer than one in five felt the economy had improved.

As a result, the recent surge in store brands sales is likely to continue. When asked how important economic conditions were in deciding to buy a supermarket store brand, four in ten responded “very important.” A solid majority of consumers – more than six in ten – said they plan on buying more private label as they attempt to stretch their food dollars. Another finding that may also accrue to store brands’ benefit: Half of shoppers intend to spend less money on groceries in the months ahead.

Consumer awareness of store brands is also rising. More than half of respondents said they are more aware of store brand products now than they were a year ago.

Moreover, shoppers who identify themselves as “frequent” buyers of store brands are at an all-time high.

Some 57% say they buy private label products frequently, a figure that has been increasing (it was under 55% a year ago).

A greater number of shoppers are switching to store brands in product categories where they had previously only purchased a national brand.

Some 43% report they have recently forsaken a familiar national brand for a private label counterpart, a marked increase since the June 2009 when only 35 % said they had done so.

Virtually all of the shoppers who switched are pleased with their decision.
Ninety-seven percent compared store brands favorably to their previous national brand choices in the same categories. About half said that their store brand selections compare “very favorably,” a dramatic increase from the June 2009 study when only one quarter reported that.

Study participants endorsed a variety of strategies to cope with what they see as a persistently difficult economy.

When asked how they think the economy will impact their supermarket shopping habits, more than two thirds said they will take advantage of discounts by buying larger sizes or quantities for items they regularly purchase; two thirds will look for more coupons and promotions on national brands. About a third plan to change the stores or types of stores where they do their primary grocery shopping.

PLMA commissioned GfK to monitor consumer attitudes and behavior toward store brands in the U.S. as private label sales and market shares across all retail channels began to surge about two years ago. Sales of store brand products topped $86.4 across the major U.S. retail channels over the past year, according to the latest data compiled by The Nielsen Company for PLMA. In supermarkets alone, where market share in units reached an historic high of 23.7%, store brands growth outpaced national brands by a spread of 8 basis points and dollar market share also set a new record at 18%. Store brands accounted for 90% of the sales growth in supermarkets, adding $1.5 billion in incremental sales (+2.9%), while national brand sales were virtually flat for the year at +0.1%.

The February 2010 survey updates findings from two earlier PLMA studies on “Store Brands and the Recession,” published in February 2009 and in June 2009. GfK Custom Research North America is part of the GfK Group, the world's fourth largest market research company.

SOURCE: PLMA

Most shoppers believe effective packaging is worth higher prices for goods, says report

-- Packaging Digest, 6/3/2010 12:59:29 PM
Research and Markets has announced the availability of a new report, "Paying More for Brands and Packaging in the 2009 Recession,” which discusses consumer attitudes toward pricing, brands and packaging in the current recession.

In June 2009, The Consumer Network repeated a June 2008 survey of packaging attributes and benefits that consumers said would lead them to pay more or purchase a national brand instead of a less expensive store brand. Both surveys asked 1000+ respondents to select from a list of 30 attributes, benefits and features. Both used a split sample -- one half asked about paying a little more, the other half asked about buying a national brand even if it cost a little more.

The overriding question in 2009 was whether desirable packaging attributes continue to contribute to brand appeal and justify a higher price at a time when more American consumers than ever are trading down to store brands and generally cutting corners wherever they can.

The report shows that for most shoppers, packaging that meets real needs is worth buying national brands or paying for in spite of determined effort to save money. It also shows that packaging attributes add even more value to buy-the-brand decisions than to pay-more decisions.

Consumers see many of the packaging attributes included in this survey as consumer responsive. Deciding to buy a brand that is consumer responsive, even if it costs a little more, is rewarding to the consumer and fits their perception of how things ought to be, e.g., that companies should give them what they want and make money by making them happy, so that, in effect, they are getting the attribute free. Environmental reasons for buying a brand - the three eco- Rs, Reusable, Refillable, and Recyclable are joined by Less Packaging - make shoppers feel good about buying a brand that is doing the right thing.

Among the other findings of this study:

* More women than men are willing to pay more for packaging attributes.
* Mothers of young children are willing to pay more for more attributes than other women.
* Higher income consumers place the most value on less packaging.
* The failure of brands to give consumers some of the packaging attributes they want may be contributing to national brands loss of market share to store brands.


SOURCE: Research and Markets

Sustainable packaging: UPS will help customers be more "Green"

By -- Packaging Digest, April 16, 2010

UPS sustainable packagingUPS has become the first carrier to offer its customers an assessment of their shipment packaging based on environmental standards, says the company.

Under the Eco Responsible Packaging Program, UPS will evaluate a customer’s packaging processes in three areas of sustainability: damage prevention, right-sizing and packaging materials. UPS will score the results and those customers who meet the requirements can display the program’s logo on their shipment packaging.

Responsible packaging obviously begins with protecting the contents; damaged goods not only frustrate the recipient but often lead to the need to remanufacture and reship, doubling the carbon footprint. Shrinking the size of the box means less material used and fewer assets needed to transport the package. Finally, using packing and shipping materials with a more sustainable profile is important for the environment.

UPS’s rigorous assessment methodology and processes are verified by Société Générale de Surveillance (SGS), an inspection, verification, testing and certification company. The service also has been praised by the Sustainable Packaging Coalition (SPC) and Business for Social Responsibility (BSR), the latter a global business network and consultancy focused on sustainability.

“Our engineers have always directed our customers to use the right kind of packaging to protect their goods,” said Bob Stoffel, senior vice president, engineering, strategy, supply chain and sustainability. “This service gives our customers a new way to demonstrate that they are serious about sustainability when it comes to shipment packaging.”

The evaluation will assess the customer’s transport packaging systems and procedures, rather than product packaging found on retail shelves. The contractual-based service is available to customers who commit to sustainable packaging solutions. Pricing is determined on a project basis.

The program is conducted by the UPS Package Engineering Group, which is known for its expertise in transport packaging principles and also sought out the expertise of third-parties to ensure that its standards represent best practices.

“Embedding environmental evaluation in day-to-day packaging decisions is a critical step to improving the stewardship and conservation of valuable resources for the future,” said Anne Johnson, director of the Sustainable Packaging Coalition. “UPS brings an unprecedented scale to assessing the environmental impacts of transport packaging systems and their Eco-Responsible Packaging Program will raise awareness and continually inform more resource efficient and ultimately, recoverable transport packaging systems.”

Detailed information about the Eco Responsible Packaging Program is available at www.ups.com/ecoresponsible.

The service is the most recent UPS has introduced to share its best practices with customers to help them “green up” their supply chain. Additionally, UPS has extensive programs for conservation, reducing fuel use and emissions in its air and ground transportation operations and using alternative fuel technologies. To learn more about UPS’s total environmental program, go to www.responsibility.ups.com.

SOURCE: UPS