Why do people choose to buy store branded goods

What is it about?

Many retailers offer their own branded goods, known as ‘store brands’ or 'private labels', as an alternative to national brands. Market penetration for these self-branded goods is high, exceeding 50% in Spain and Switzerland, and is between 30-45% in France, Germany and the UK. As such, marketing scholars and retailers alike are interested in understanding what influences the decision to purchase a store brand over a national brand. But only partial evidence exists on the store brand purchase decision with a focus on end-user attitudes to those brands. This study analyses the different phases of the store brand evaluative process – attitude, preference and purchase intention. We investigate how each phase is influenced by selected psychographic and perceptual consumer traits and product evaluative criteria.

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Photo by Thought Catalog on Unsplash

Photo by Thought Catalog on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Consumers who develop positive attitudes towards store brands are more likely to buy them. Understanding the complete process that shoppers follow in order to assess brands is critical for the effective promotion of private labels. From a practical perspective, this work involves an extensive empirical study that aggregates data from shoppers across six Western countries. This multinational sample offers a high degree of external validity and generalization of the results obtained. These findings present opportunities for retail managers to use packaging design, attractive planograms and point-of-sale promotions and communication to encourage unplanned store brand purchases.