MISSISSAUGA, Ontario—More likely than not, Canadian households use at least one store brand product purchased at a grocery store, as more than 80 percent of Canadian grocery shoppers say they purchase private label brands, according to a new public opinion survey. The spring consumer trends poll for Sobeys by Harris/Decima found 49 percent of Canadian shoppers purchase private label brands frequently and 34 percent say they sometimes purchase them.
Shoppers who turn to store brands are looking for a good price with a high quality. In total, 58 percent of Canadians who purchase private label products frequently say they are less expensive and offer their families greater value. And, 48 percent of frequent private label buyers said they feel the products are comparable, or better, in quality than national brand names.
While the survey showed canned goods (71 percent), household products (62 percent), frozen foods (54 percent) and staples (53 percent) continue to be popular private label choices for shoppers, Canadians are increasingly choosing private label products in categories like dairy (49 percent), fresh produce (48 percent), fresh meat (48 percent) and fresh baked goods (45 percent).
Private label brands are most popular in Quebec and Ontario, with 54 percent and 51 percent respectively saying they purchase them frequently.
The data for the survey were gathered from April 29, 2010 to May 2, 2010 through Harris/Decima's weekly teleVox, the company's national omnibus survey. A representative sample of 1,008 Canadians were surveyed. The margin of error is +/-3.4 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
Sobeys Inc. is a national grocery retailer and food distributor headquartered in Stellarton, Nova Scotia. A wholly-owned subsidiary of Empire Company Limited (TSX:EMP.A), Sobeys owns or franchises more than 1,300 stores in all 10 provinces under retail banners that include Sobeys, IGA, Foodland, FreshCo, Price Chopper and Thrifty Foods, as well as Lawtons Drug Stores.