Grocery Price Check: Switch to Store Brand Helps Shoppers Save 33% While Ringing Up the Season

NEW YORK, Dec. 7, 2010 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A new study of supermarket prices by PLMA reveals shoppers on average could save almost a third off their grocery bill by filling their seasonal market baskets with the retailer's brand rather than with pricier national brands. That's something worth celebrating for those with more festive things to spend their hard-earned money on.

The research, conducted by the Private Label Manufacturers Association, tracked the pricing for 40 typical grocery items at a conventional supermarket. Included in the survey were cold-weather pantry staples like stuffing, cranberry sauce, soup, oatmeal, pancake mix, maple syrup and hot chocolate, as well as wintertime personal necessities such as lip balm, body lotion, cough drops, sinus spray, tissue and nighttime cold medicine.

Editors: Click to download full release and price comparison chart for the sample market basket.

The study results indicate that by choosing the store brand version of the products on the list rather than the national brand consumers could save $43.92 (a savings of 33.6%) on average on their total market basket. When buying the national brands the 40-item purchase came to $130.78 on average over six separate trips, while the same purchases for the retailer's brands cost $86.85 on average. The survey took place over a six week period in a suburban supermarket located in the northeast.

For every category in the study, a leading national brand product was compared to a similar store brand product and prices were adjusted to account for all known discounts, coupons and promotions available for each of the six shopping visits in the study.

Among individual food items the cost savings ranged as high as 46% on a 2-liter bottle of soda, 40% on maple syrup and oatmeal, 38% on packaged macaroni and cheese, and 36% on ice cream, pasta sauce and hot dogs. Savings in many non-foods categories were even greater, led by aspirin (the store brand version cost 62% less on average), body lotion (55% less), sinus spray and facial tissue (both 47% less) and aluminum foil (42% less). In all instances, the store brand cost less than the national brand.

In a recent study by GfK Roper, two-thirds of shoppers who changed their food buying habits as a result of economic conditions say they are purchasing private label products in categories where they used to buy only national brand items. Looking ahead, the data indicates this trend will continue: Eight out of ten respondents say when the economy returns to normal they will still buy the retailer's brand where previously only the national brands would do.

A separate study by Epsilon Targeting confirmed that consumers are forsaking national brands across a wide range of categories, including 75% of respondents who say they switched to store brands for household products, 74% for foods, 59% for health and personal care products, and 27% for pet care.

The Private Label Manufacturers Association is the industry trade association devoted exclusively to store brands. Founded in 1979, PLMA today represents over 3,000 companies who are involved in the manufacture and distribution of store brand products. The products supplied by PLMA members include food, beverages, snacks, health and beauty aids, over-the-counter drugs, household cleaners and chemicals, outdoor and leisure products, auto aftercare and general merchandise.

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Brian Sharoff

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SOURCE Private Label Manufacturers Association