In a small win for Aussie food companies, big-brand grocery item purchases have increased, while private label products have decreased.
A new Neilson poll shows that private label grocery items have fallen for the first time in five years.
The big food companies who have been struggling against the rapid increase in home brand products will surely be hopeful the 0.7 per cent drop in private label grocery sales from this time last year is possibly an indication that Australian consumers are committed to keeping these companies alive.
The Nielsen report found ‘household penetration’ of the supermarket’s own ‘home brands’ have dropped from 95.5 per cent in 2011 to 94.8 per cent this year.
The findings back reports in recent months that found nearly half of all shoppers go out of their way to buy Australian-made produce, while more than a third buy Australian wherever possible.
The news comes after previous studies earlier this year found the number of private label products being purchased in Australian supermarkets is increasing.
The report also found that while consumers are becoming more dedication to food brands, they are not demonstrating the same loyalty to the supermarkets, with the rate of cross-shopping increasing to over 88 per cent in 2012.
Supermarkets ‘providing an enjoyable experience’ and ‘staff service’ were factors impacting store loyalty, Nielsen Retail Industry Group Executive-Director Kosta Conomos explained.
“As retailers continue to focus on the same initiatives such as private label, loyalty reward cards or low shelf prices, shoppers are increasingly seeing them as ‘hygiene factors’.
“Unless further differentiation occurs among Australian retailers, we’ll continue to see very high penetration levels and cross-shopping, with low levels of loyalty.