Nielsen report shows more consumers switching to private label products

SCHAUMBURG, Ill. Once considered a lower-price, lower-quality substitute for name brands, private label products, or store brands, are viewed positively by the majority of U.S. consumers, according to a new survey by The Nielsen Company. As many as 72 percent of consumers believe store brands are good alternatives to name brands and 62 percent of consumers report they consider store brands to be as good as name brands, up three points since 2005.

“While private label products continue to follow the success of consumer packaged goods manufacturers’ name brand  introductions, more CPG retailers are making private label a priority with messages on quality as strong as messages on value,” said Todd Hale, senior vice president of Consumer & Shopper Insights for the Nielsen Company.  

According to Nielsen’s survey, price and value are paramount, especially in today’s market. Three out of four consumers believed it is important to get the best price on a product. More than two-thirds 67 percent) of consumers agreed that store brands usually provide “extremely good value” for the money while 35 percent of consumers are willing to pay the same or more for store brands if they like it.

Conversely, only one out of every four consumers believed that name brand products are worth the extra price. “In today’s economy, consumers are looking for ways to save money and for many of them, that means taking a new look at private label products,” Hale said.  “With more retailers offering satisfaction guarantees on private label purchases and even serving up blind taste testing and trial programs, consumers’ exposure to private label products has never been greater.”

Private label products account for more than $81 billion in the United States, up 10.2 percent over the past year, Nielsen reported.