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31 August 2005
Sydney
Australian acceptance of private label brands was the highest in the Asia Pacific region, with nearly four in five consumers (79%) saying private label products were a good alternative to other brands, a global study by research company ACNielsen has found.
Released today, the twice-yearly global ACNielsen Online Consumer Opinion Survey, the largest of its kind, polled over 20,000 people in more than 38 countries and more than 500 Australian participants on what they thought about generic or private label brands as an alternative to other brands in terms of their quality, value for money, packaging and positioning.
Australia was ranked in the top 10 countries globally in terms of private label perception of value for money – 81 percent of Australian consumers agreed that the private label products they bought usually offered extremely good value for money. This compared to an Asia Pacific regional average of just 60 percent and a global average of 62 percent.
“The level of acceptance of private label brands in Australia is relatively high compared to other countries in Asia Pacific” says Justin Sargent, Executive Director, Retail, ACNielsen Australia. “However, whilst 99 per cent of Australian consumers buy private label, it is important to note that their acceptance still varies dramatically when looking across different categories.
“There are still significant opportunities to deliver a more consistent private label experience to consumers.”
Australians were divided on their perception of the level of quality that private label products offered. Asked whether they felt private label products were suitable where quality was an important factor, 41 percent agreed that they were suitable while 33 percent did not. This was fairly consistent with regional and global findings – 47 percent of consumers regionally and 40 percent globally agreed that private label products were not suitable where quality was important. Twenty percent regionally and 31 percent globally did not agree. (See Chart 1).
“Generally consumers are less concerned with private label quality when it comes to ‘low involvement’ products such as milk, sugar and flour, however, they are less convinced if they’re considering products such as face cream or baby food,” says Sargent.
But while Australians’ perception of quality may have been polarised, their view on private label target markets was certainly clear. When asked if they thought private label products were meant for people on tight budgets who couldn’t afford the best brands, 52 percent of Australian consumers disagreed. This was 10 percentage points higher than the global average and 22 points higher than the Asia Pacific regional average. (See Chart 2).
“Generally we see that in markets where private label is less developed, consumers know less about the products and often assume that they are of lesser quality, and aimed at people who can’t afford the bigger brands,” says Sargent. “The ACNielsen survey clearly shows that in Australia, where consumers have been exposed to private label for some time, this is not the perception. Successful private label businesses are designed and targeted at every consumer.”
Chart 1
 Chart 2
About ACNielsen
ACNielsen, a VNU business, is the world’s leading marketing information company. Offering services in more than 100 countries, the company provides measurement and analysis of marketplace dynamics and consumer attitudes and behaviour. Clients rely on ACNielsen’s market research, proprietary products, analytical tools and professional service to understand competitive performance, to uncover new opportunities and to raise the profitability of their marketing and sales campaigns.
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