Two fifths (41%) of Irish shoppers buy a mixture of both branded and own-brand milk, according to the latest Consumer Insights survey from Empathy Research.
Of 950 participants, 35-44 year olds appear to show the least loyalty towards branded or own-brand milk, with less than half (49%) buying a mixture of both own-brand and branded products. Amongst other age groups, there is less loyalty to either branded or own-brand, with 39% of those aged 18-35%, 36% of 45-54 year olds and 39% of 55+ buying both. Half of the participants living in the Connacht/Ulster region said they buy a mixture of own label and branded milk, which is noticeably higher than all the other regions; Dublin (38%), Munster (38%) and Rest of Leinster (40%).
Of those surveyed, a third (34%) buy own-brand label milk only, which is highest among 45-54 year olds (43%) compared to all other age groups; 18-34 years (33%), 35-44 years (31%) and 55+ years (31%). Regionally, people from Munster (39%) appear more likely to buy own-brand milk than anywhere else; Dublin (29%), Connacht/Ulster (29%) and Rest of Leinster (36%).
Just over a fifth (22%) of Irish shoppers said they buy branded milk only, and this was seen to be highest amongst the 55+ age group (28%).
Elsewhere, provenance is still very important to us, with 99% of Irish shoppers saying they always 'buy Irish' when they choose milk. When asked what was most important to consider when buying milk, 74% cited place of origin. Noticeably more women (78%) were of this opinion compared to men (70%), while 44% of females believe place of origin of milk/dairy products to be ‘very important’, compared to 34% of males.
Those aged 45-54 were found to be the biggest buyers of own-label milk while also being the least affected by place of origin when buying dairy products (67%). This is substantially lower than all other age groups; 18-34 years (71%), 35-44 years (78%) and 55+ years (79%).
Despite place or origin having a rather high level of importance among many milk buyers, only 21% said they would not buy milk if it was sourced from Northern Ireland or the UK. 79% of survey participants would still buy milk (branded or own label) if it was sourced from Northern Ireland or the UK, while 40% added they would do so ‘if there was no choice’.
Interestingly, over a third (35%) of milk buyers think milk is currently ‘too expensive’. 40% of participants living in the Rest of Leinster and 39% in Munster say that the current price of milk is 'too expensive', which is noticeably higher than those living in Dublin (34%) and Connacht/Ulster (26%).
Click here for more information from Empathy Research.
© 2014 - Checkout Magazine by Genna Patterson
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