NEW YORK—Women will shop more frequently if preferred private label and store brand are available, according to survey of women's knowledge of 46 brands conducted by EPM Communications. The amount they spend there, and the likelihood that they recommend that store to family and friends, also increases, according to the report titled "Women's Retail Brand Awareness: A Survey Of Private Label Fashion, Food & Storewide Brands."
Women were asked to identify which brands were sold at which retailers, and about the how the availability of those brands affected shopping behavior.
"When private labels feature 'higher-end' names, consumers assume it's a higher-end store," says EPM President Ira Mayer, "At the other end, our research demonstrates if you have 'value' in your brand name, consumers assume the brand is sold at Wal-Mart even though, for example, Value Time is a Piggly Wiggly brand. Meanwhile, anything associated with organic is perceived as available at Whole Foods, even though Whole Foods' own house brand is simply 365. Safeway offers O Organics, though few consumers know it."
Among other findings:
- 31 of women say that a preferred brand's exclusive presence at a store makes that store a destination for them when they shop. The younger the woman, the more likely she is to say brands bring her to specific stores.
- Exclusive brands generate foot traffic and drive sales: 33 percent of women are likely to spend more at a store that carries a favorite brand exclusively.
- Women are more likely to first learn about brands via store circulars and in-store promotions than they are from television, magazines, radio and the Internet combined.