Recession, Recovery & Store Brands: A PLMA Consumer Research Report

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of PBM Products. All opinions are 100% mine.

Although there are indications that the United States is on its way to economic recovery, it is not a commonly held perception among supermarket shoppers. According to a nationwide survey of almost 800 grocery shoppers conducted by GfK Custom Research North America for the Private Label Manufacturers Association (PLMA), 8 out of 10 grocery shoppers believe that the U.S. economy is not improving, and 40% say it has actually deteriorated.

Because most shoppers surmise that things have gotten worse, they are always on the lookout for ways to stretch their hard-earned money. In fact, 62% of consumers prefer buying store brand products, like Parent’s Choice, over national brands. Frequent buyers of store brands also increased from 55% a year ago to 57%. Also, 43% of shoppers have given up national brands in favor of store brands.

What’s even more interesting is that 97% of shoppers who switched to store brands are happy with their new preference. Of those surveyed, 49% say their new store brand choices compare “very favorably” with their previous national brand selections, whereas in June 2009, only 26% reported that. All of these key findings are presented in the PLMA Consumer Research Report entitled “Recession, Recovery & Store Brands.”