An investigation into the impact of the current economic recession on

Abstract

The objective of this study is to investigate the impact of the current economic recession on own-brand ranges in the Irish grocery retail sector. With the recession continuing to effect individuals daily lifestyles across the globe, retailers can expect to see more consumers switching to own-branded products. Consumer’s weekly incomes have decreased and are continuing to do so. Consumer’s are now seeking ways to save money during the recession, not alone on price, but on quality of offering. Evidence suggests that today's own-brands are better than yesterdays packaged goods. The study is entirely exploratory in nature. The research techniques employed is semistructured in-depth interviews with Managers in Head Office of Musgrave’s and Tesco Ireland. Qualitative questionnaires were conducted both face-to-face and via the telephone with Store Managers from four credible Irish Retailers operating in Ireland, SuperValu, Dunnes Stores, Centra and Tesco (the method by which to conduct the questionnaires depended on Manager preference). In addition to the research five focus groups with consumers were constructed and a small scale in-store observation study was also conducted to gain further insights and perceptions for the research. The research findings demonstrate that the recession has had a desirable impact on retailer own-brand sales. Findings indicate that own-brands have become the main priority for retailers now in these tougher economic times. From a consumer point of view the research findings illustrates that the recession has had a huge effect on consumer’s perceptions of and purchasing behaviours of own-brands. This research concludes that own-brands are excellent for increasing market share, differentiating a retailers brand and winning back consumers. Therefore retailers need to constantly invest and nourish their own-brand ranges. Own-brands have become a major growing consumer acceptance. With many consumers struggling financially, the own-brand ranges have become to be an excellent way of providing consumers with cheaper alternative products, without compromising on quality.