Playing Favorites?

Everyone has a favorite brand that we use or consume everyday, but for other items, the name on the box of bag doesn't matter as much. But just how often do Americans reach for “name-brand” products over the store brand options available? The answer depends on exactly what they're reaching for, according to a recent Harris Poll.

Americans tend to purchase name-brands for food and beverage products where flavor, arguably, differs more between brands—think breakfast cereal (62%), carbonated soft drinks (58%), bagged snacks (58%), prepared frozen foods (56%), coffee (55%), and yogurt (54%).  But on the other hand, when it comes to food and beverage staples, Americans reach for the store brand option. Majorities purchase store brands for milk (60%), frozen vegetables (51%), and cooking oil (50%).

What about household and personal care products?

Considering other types of household products, majorities of Americans purchase store brands for over-the-counter (OTC) drugs (60%) and paper products (51%), but rely on name-brand products for cleaning products (55%), according to Harris.

Not too surprisingly, in many instances, income differences coincide with brand choice differences, namely individuals from higher income households are more likely to purchase name-brands compared to those from lower income households. Differences exist among generations as well. In several cases, millennials are less likely to purchase name-brand products compared to their older counterparts..

According to the polll, Gen Xers are more likely than any other generation to choose name-brands for a number of categories including cleaning products.

There are  differences by gender too. Women purchase name-brands more than men in area like breakfast cereal, yogurt, pet food and paper products howveer women buy store brands more than men when it comes to OTC drugs, food storage bags and frozen vegetables (55% vs. 47%).

The Harris Poll was conducted online, in English, within the United States between November 12 and 17, 2014 among 2,276 adults (aged 18 and over).