New Salsify Report Reveals Growing Consumer Attraction to Private Label as Product Prices Soar
Almost two-in-three shoppers turning from top-shelf brands to lower-shelf alternatives
Product Experience Management (PXM) platform, Salsify, has released new consumer research that reveals private label products are winning likes from consumers, with almost two-in-three shoppers (63%) choosing store brands or private labels due to their low prices.
Salsify’s report, Post Pandemic, New Recession: 2023 Global Guide to Consumers, is based on a survey of 6,000 consumers from the U.S. Great Britain, Germany, France, and Australia, and sheds light on what is driving global consumers to buy online amid higher prices, rising unemployment, and continued worry about a possible recession.
Cara Wood, Head of Research at Salsify, said: “The pressure is on this year as consumers become much more selective about their purchases. While price is a key factor in purchasing decisions, it’s not the only thing that is swaying these careful consumers.”
According to Wood, online consumers are placing much greater scrutiny on product quality, with more than half saying they wouldn’t buy a product with bad product content that doesn’t include enough information or includes low-quality images.
“Strong product content is so important that shoppers are more likely to purchase products from unfamiliar brands or those with bad reputations than those with missing or bad information,” she said.
Other insights from the report include:
Pandemic habits persist with 68% of respondents indicating that they are shopping more online. Delivery speed and flexibility were the top factors in driving where they shop (85%).
Despite current economic uncertainties, product quality was more important to consumers this year than discounts, with 81% saying product quality was the number one factor keeping consumers loyal to the brands they love.
As brands work to win over careful consumers, they cannot ignore social issues such as climate change. Men were more likely than women to say a brand’s sustainability practices matter to them. The survey showed that 21% of men choose where to shop based on the store’s ethical product selection, compared to 12% of women.
While 42% of consumers bought directly on social media, others were getting meta about the future having tried new channels in 2022. A quarter of all consumers said they shopped using augmented reality (AR) or virtual reality (VR) shopping tools in the last six months.
Learn more: Download the Post-Pandemic, New Recession: 2023 Global Guide to Consumers Report to view the full results.
Salsify is a Commercial Partner of the Drinks Association.