Survey: National brands gaining ground

New York City -- While the majority of global consumers still perceive store brands to be the same as or better than national brands, a one year trend analysis indicates that their positive perceptions toward store brands may be starting to decline slightly. This is the latest finding from a study conducted by Ipsos Marketing, Consumer Goods.



“Our data indicates that store brands still pose a strong challenge to national brands, but perhaps consumers are becoming a little bit more discerning about the benefits delivered by national brands,” said Gill Aitchison, president, Ipsos Marketing, Global Shopper & Retail Research. “We see that store brands, which initially distinguished themselves as being a low-cost alternative and evolved to offering what many consumers perceive as products comparable to national brands, are showing signs of vulnerability.”



Consumers from around the world were asked to compare store brands to national brands on a host of attributes. On key dimensions, including providing good value for the money, meeting their needs, offering convenience, being good for their families, and offering products their family requests, over 80% of global consumers indicated that store brands are the same as or better than national brands.



However, compared to the same study conducted a year prior, store brand ratings declined somewhat, most notably in the areas of being environmentally-friendly, high-quality, trustworthy, unique and innovative. Taste, efficacy of household products and packaging appeal slipped as well.