Loyalty to Nationally Advertised Brands on the Wane: Study

Loyalty to nationally advertised brands has been decreasing for the past two years as consumers try to save money, according to “Anatomy of the Recession,” a report by Arlington, Texas-based marketing research firm Decision Analyst Inc. The report is based on a survey of 15,384 U.S. grocery shoppers.

For instance, the report showed that between the third quarter of 2007 and third quarter of 2009, the number of consumers reporting that they usually buy the least expensive brand regardless of brand name rose by nine percentage points.

During the same time period, the percentage of Americans “willing to pay more for nationally advertised brands’’ decreased, according to “Anatomy of the Recession.” The biggest decline (five points) took place in the period between the first quarter of 2008 and first quarter of 2009, the report found.

“At first glance, this is troublesome news for U.S. retailers,’’ noted Diane Brewton, SVP of Decision Analyst’s Strategic Consulting Group. “The negative shift in loyalty coincides with the recession. As the economy trended down, consumers tried to save money by switching to less-expensive alternatives. However, retail sales have stabilized enough to give us a basis for cautious optimism. Positive changes in consumer attitudes should translate into better sales for brand names this year. The primary uncertainty is the long-term effect private label products will have on the branded products.”

“Anatomy of the Recession” employs information from a comprehensive health-and-wellness study called “Health and Nutrition Strategist” (HANS), which is sponsored by Decision Analyst and has been conducted monthly via the Internet since January 2006. The current sample of 15,384 U.S. adults provides information on grocery shopping, food consumption, restaurant usage, and behaviors and attitudes in relation to health and nutrition.

For a copy of the Anatomy of the Recession report, contact Cristi Allen at [email protected] or 817-640-6166.

Decision Analyst owns and operates American Consumer Opinion Online, which has & million participants, making it one of the world’s largest consumer opinion panels.
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