Research by IRI has found that the value market share of private label has fallen by 0.6 percentage points year-on-year in Europe (encompassing France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom), the US, and Australia.
The market intelligence firm’s study, Private Label in Western Economies, revealed that the UK is the market with the strongest penetration of private label (51.8%), however the value share of the market decreased year-on-year by 0.4 points.
Meanwhile, in Germany, private label is also in decline, falling by 0.8 points in value share, although it still has a value market share and a unit market share of 38.4% and 50.9% respectively.
In Spain, where shoppers consider national brands to be higher-quality products, private label has also seen some stagnation. However, the sector has grown in Italy, with the help of investment in premium-price private-label ranges at major retailers.
“We’ve seen an overabundance of products on the shelves across many of the countries, not just the UK. There is simply too much choice for the average consumer today, and private label is often the victim of cuts to the number of products that appear on store shelves," commented Tim Eales, director of strategic insight at IRI.
"Retailers need to put in place the right strategies to help them focus on what shoppers want, but also to understand the impact of their decisions when it comes to reducing assortment and range, whether that’s private label or national brands,” he added.
© 2016 - Checkout Magazine by Jenny Whelan
