It would seem budget brands are booming, and with the cost of living, it’s no wonder why.
It’s a no-brainer to choose the cheaper alternative when faced with almost identical products. Branded flour sells for about twice the price of the supermarket brand. All but the most sophisticated bakers would be able to tell the difference between the two.
However, taking a deeper dive, there are few indicators that show if the economy does turn around, budget brands may have burrowed into our buying habits, and for good reason.
Getting better
Who remembers the early days of home-brand supermarket products?
We’re going back 30 years here, but generally the packaging was woeful, the marketing non-existent and the quality a bit of a rollercoaster.
The dishwashing liquid was good – it was usually just watered-down Morning Fresh – but the toothpaste tasted like floor scrapings from an asbestos plant.
They sold solidly, but not well. Over the past few decades there has been a steady change that has seen budget brands dominate the retail and service industries.
And that is because the quality is better. Sure, there are still bargain basement generic products – here’s looking at you IGA’s Black and Gold range – but the supermarkets have wised up to the fact that a decent product and appeal to your wallet goes a long way.
Moving away from the generic branding doesn’t hurt either. As well as the IGA Black and Gold, Woolworths went with red and white and Coles blue and white, but you rarely see these products anymore.
Now it’s often hard to tell the home-brand product, so you don’t have that icky feeling about buying the cheapest available.
Aldi takes it to the next step and produces packaging that piggybacks on legacy brands. They get away with it by using just enough visual clues to let you know what brand they are copying, without slavishly copying every detail.
And its reputation for cheap imitations actually works in its favour. Moroccanoil took the German giant to court in Australia over copyright issues. However the judge found that there was “no real, tangible danger” consumers would mistake Aldi’s budget offerings for Moroccanoil’s luxury products based on the brand names.
Not taking the easy way out
But it’s not just about groceries.
Kmart and Target have also done well with their signature Anko range. Instead of just slapping the Target and Kmart branding on an existing imported product, the three brands work together to create price-conscious products.
And they are giving more upmarket brands a bit of a shake-up. This year CHOICE ranked a $20 Anko frypan well above much more expensive competitors.
Check out CHOICE’s wrap up of the Anko range here.
David Jones and Myer have a slightly different strategy. They retail comparable products to their more luxe brands, but at more competitive prices. So you are buying the reputation, but at a discount price.
No loyalty
Australians are also losing their loyalty and are happy to shop around for price versus brand.
Gone are the days you buy a brand because you always have, and maybe your mother and grandmother did too.
Think about jam. Once upon a time, we all spread one or two Australian brands of jam on our white bread. These days there are 15 jam brands to choose from, almost none of them from Australia.
A survey found the majority of Australian shoppers no longer feel any brand loyalty when shopping.
“In the current economic landscape, Australians are reassessing their brand loyalties, driven not only by cost considerations but also by a desire for convenience and personalised experiences,” says SAP Emarsys regional vice-president of revenue Silvana Tagand.
Do you shop around for the best price regardless of the brand? Why not let us know in the comments section below?
