When the economy hit the skids a few years ago, we responded with tactics that have gotten us through previous recessions: We stopped eating out and traveling as much, curbed our discretionary spending and chose generic items for basics like groceries. But then something strange happened: We began to prefer many of those store brands. Increasingly, we’re willing to pay even more for them. What’s going on here?
Duracell? Energizer? The cheapie packages of AAs at the dollar store? Tired of dumping money blindly on batteries for Wii remote controllers, flashlights, Nerf guns, and the like, a physicist decides it’s time to investigate which batteries truly give the most bang for the buck.
Not long ago, supermarket house brand foods were easily detected by their lame packaging, if not the groans they elicited from kids forced to eat the cheap knock-off goods. Times have changed.
How does a $2.99 bottle of red wine from Trader Joe’s compare to a pricier competitor?
The average American supermarket now measures over 46,000 square feet—up from an average of around 35,000 square feet in the mid-90s. While most grocery store operations continue to focus on the super-mega-ginormous category, two value-focused chains—Aldi and Save-A-Lot—are going the opposite way, with stores typically under 20,000 square feet. Shoppers have fewer items to pick [...]
As 2010 comes to a close, keep some money in your pocket when bellying up to the bar or the fast food counter, considering luxury “status” purchases, shopping the post-Christmas sales, and planning your kid’s birthday party.
According to a recent survey, 93% of grocery store shoppers say their habits have changed due to the recession. For the most part, the changes involve people choosing cheaper brands for necessities like shampoo and cereal (often generic store-brand products). Many shoppers are also simply buying less period, and to force themselves to do so, [...]
For instance: Why in the world would you have to pay a fee just to pay your bill?
During a series of blind taste tests pitting store-brand foods versus name-brand products—say, Publix orange juice vs. Tropicana—there were rarely clear winners. In other words: The presence of a national brand label is by no means a guarantee that the product will taste better. So if you automatically, unconsciously default to selecting a brand strictly [...]
Call it the recession lesson. The downturn caused many newly thrifty consumers to detour into the world of cheap toilet paper, store brand shampoos, and other generic necessities. And you know what these consumers discovered? The cheaper stuff isn’t half-bad. Often, the cheaper stuff clearly gives more bang for the buck. So why would consumers [...]
We’re not talking about using coupons or tricks to throw together a random cheapie meal. We’re talking about the typical Thanksgiving feast, with turkey, cranberry sauce, rolls, stuffing, sweet potatoes, and pumpkin pie.
