Nov 14, 2011

Consumers at the Forefront of Private Label

Retailers must actively involve customers when developing private labels in order to enhance brand perception, says leading retail intelligence firm Planet Retail.

Planet Retail’s ground-breaking Private Label Trends, 2012 report sponsored by Daymon Worldwide looks at six key trends that will shape the world of private labelling in 2012 and beyond. At the forefront of this shift in the retail landscape is customer endorsement.

“Today’s empowered consumer wants to be involved in the decision-making process, whether that is simply providing feedback or suggesting entirely new product lines. Getting customers to endorse your products not only instils trust but, crucially, it ensures high quality standards for private label items,” says Global Research Director Natalie Berg.

Although this trend is still in its infancy and predominantly taking place in Europe, Planet Retail believes that there is huge opportunity for retailers around the world, particularly in North America. Leading industry players Walmart-owned Asda, Carrefour, Loblaw and Migros are currently paving the way with social media and marketing innovations. As a direct result of customer involvement, retailers have been able to uncover entirely new product lines and sub-ranges.

As revealed in this report, retailers are venturing into new premium categories and tiers, increasingly blurring the traditional good-better-best scheme. Additionally, a growing number of distribution agreements are materialising, be they traditional bricks-and-mortar specialists or online retailers such as Amazon.

“Retailers are looking to extend the reach of their private labels beyond the walls of their stores. By making them available through other distributors, they are taking a first step towards ubiquity, so far an exclusive feature of national brands,” says Research Director Matthias Queck

For further information please contact:

Press:
Robyn Ashman, Marketing Assistant
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7728 4335; E-mail: robyn.ashman@planetretail.net

Analyst:
Natalie Berg, Global Research Director
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7728 4960; E-mail: natalie.berg@planetretail.net

Matthias Queck, Research Director
Tel: +49 (0) 69 9621 7581; E-mail: matthias.queck@planetretail.net 

About Planet Retail:
Planet Retail is the leading provider of intelligence on the global retail and foodservice industries, monitoring more than 10,000 retail operations as well as market developments in 211 markets. With over 15 years of industry insight, Planet Retail is a brand trusted by more than 3,000 organisations worldwide, delivering up-to- the-minute news, analysis, market research and digital media via www.planetretail.net. Planet Retail has offices in London, Frankfurt, Chicago, Qingdao and Tokyo.