Shoppers Can Save on Summer Basket Items: Study

A new survey of supermarket prices on 30 summertime essentials found that shoppers can save more than 30 percent by choosing the retailer’s brand instead of the national brand.

The research, conducted by the Private Label Manufacturers Association, tracked the pricing on commonly purchased items at a typical supermarket. Included in the survey were food items such as hot dogs and condiments, salad dressing and ice tea mix, in addition to nonfood items like aluminum foil, charcoal and insect repellent.

The results indicate that consumers buying the store brand would save $41.42 on average on the total market basket. When buying national brands, the 30-item purchase came to $125.30 while the same purchase for the retailer’s brands cost $83.88.

For each 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 weeks included in the study. Savings on individual products ranged from 14 percent (charcoal lighter) to 59 percent (hot dog and hamburger buns). The survey was repeated on a weekly basis during a recent four-week period in a suburban supermarket located in the northeast.

Click here to download the price comparison chart for the sample market basket.

Comparable savings by shoppers in every season on products throughout the store have no doubt helped the annual sales of store brands to climb to $87 billion in 2010. According to industry statistics, the products currently account for about one of every four items purchased in U.S. supermarkets.

The economy appears to be a factor in winning shoppers over to store brands. 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 10 respondents say when the economy returns to normal they will still buy the retailer’s brand.

The Private Label Manufacturers Association represents more than 3,000 companies involved in the manufacture and distribution of store brand products.