Accenture: Store Brands Thrive as U.S. Shoppers Keep Cheap Habits

What started as a recession-beating tactic seems to have become ingrained in shoppers in the United States. They just can't get enough of store brands, aka generics or private label products.

A new study of 500 U.S. consumers conducted by the management consulting company Accenture shows that 64 percent of shoppers' grocery carts were at least half full of store brand products — and 39 percent said they've bought more store brands in recent years. This is in line with an April 2012 study conducted by Perception Research Services indicating that 38 percent of U.S. shoppers have bought more private label products than they did in 2010, with 86 percent of shoppers saying they purchase at least some store brands on a regular basis.

The rise of store brands has been a phenomenon typically associated with recessionary times, but in recent years, consumers have favored store brands for reasons other than price alone. Two-thirds of shoppers do indeed say they buy store brands because they are cheaper; according to the Accenture study, however, 50 percent of consumers surveyed buy store brand products because they perceive the quality to be just as good as the brand-name equivalent, and 42 percent say they buy private label products because they trust a particular store's brand.

Start throwing around terms like "quality" and "trust" and marketers of brand-name products become very nervous.Continue reading...