Bright Future for Private Label Across Europe

Amsterdam - Private label has achieved unprecedented acceptance across Europe, with shoppers becoming more aware of retailer brands and planning to increase their purchases of them, according to a new consumer research study conducted for PLMA by MORI, the internationally-respected research firm.

These findings are contained in the study, "Consumer Attitudes Towards Private Label in Europe," which surveyed 5,000 main household shoppers. The study is the first comprehensive research to analyse and compare consumer attitudes towards private label across Europe and covers Belgium, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain.

The largest gains in the percentage of consumers who were more aware of private label were posted in Great Britain (56%), Spain (42%) and France (38%). Increased awareness is leading to more purchasing, reports MORI. The biggest gains in percentage of consumers planning to increase their purchases of supermarkets private label products were the Netherlands (19%), Great Britain (17%) and Germany (17%).

Private label's long-term future appears especially bright. Young consumers (those up to age 25) are by far the most ardent supporters of private label, saying they are more aware of private label and plan to increase their purchases.

The MORI research confirmed that not only is private label popular today, but that consumers are demonstrating by their buying behaviour that potential growth is even more promising.

Key findings on consumer attitudes across Europe include:

• The quality of products is now virtually equal in importance to price as a factor in the selection of private label products.
• Four of ten shoppers across Europe would like their supermarket to provide a wider variety of private label products.
• About one-quarter of all shoppers' total market baskets are made up of private label products.
• More consumers said they were now "less likely" to buy manufacturers brands than those who said they were "more likely" to buy them, compared to a year earlier.

Brian Sharoff, President, PLMA, said "The MORI study confirmed the potential for growth in private label across Europe, both in countries with significant private label penetration and those where private label is in its early stages of development."