EXCLUSIVE: Majority of Shoppers Reach for Private Label Products, Coupons

According to an exclusive poll conducted by YouGov for Progressive Grocer, 91% of consumers say that inflation has “significantly,” “moderately” or “slightly” affected their grocery shopping habits over the past year. As an overwhelming majority of shoppers are feeling at least some pricing pressure, they are actively taking steps to keep their spending in check.

The survey of 1,163 Americans found that most consumers are opting for private label products as one way to stick to their budgets. Half of the respondents said they are buying “about the same” amount of private label products as they did last year, while 20% are buying more. When asked if they choose branded items or store brand/generic offerings when buying food, most (39%) said they buy both equally, 36% report that they buy mostly generic/store brand products and 20% shared that they purchase mostly name-brand items.

Breaking it down within a few categories, shoppers in this poll tend to buy more store brand meat and dairy products (37%) over branded meat and dairy products (24%), while 35% reported that they buy both equally. Adult beverage shoppers go for name brands more often (29%) than store brands (14%) or balance between private label and branded alcohol products (14%). It's more of an even split in frozen foods, with 38% buying both branded and store brand items, 32% purchasing more generic products and 24% choosing mostly name brand offerings.  

Shoppers are also using coupons to save money, or at least not spend more money. A quarter of those surveyed said they “often” use coupons or look for discounts when grocery shopping, while 23% said they “always” do so and 28% reported that they “sometimes” engage in those habits. Only 8% said they never use coupons or seek discounts, while 14% indicated that they rarely do and 2% answered that they don’t know.

As retailers continue to engage consumers in the digital space, many shoppers are finding and using coupons online. Nearly half (45%) of YouGov survey participants said they use digital offers, including 51% of women and 49% of men. Social media is also an avenue for coupons, with 20% reporting that they find savings on various social platforms.

Store loyalty programs came up strong, too, for coupon discovery. More than half (51%) of respondents say they redeem coupons via their store’s rewards programs. Additionally, 37% visit grocers’ websites for coupons.

YouGov’s survey for Progressive Grocer was conducted between May 19-22. This is the second in a series of articles on the results of the shopper poll. The first article in the series can be found here.