PMR: Private labels gain in pandemic

Wpis dostępny jest także w języku: polski

Just 8% of Poles say they do not buy private label products. The coronavirus pandemic and its economic fallout have driven up purchases of retailer brands, especially among those consumers who already bought them pre-Covid, according to a new PMR survey among 1,000 respondents carried out in December 2020.

More than 50% of Poles buy retailer brands of food, cosmetics, and clothing, the survey shows. Private labels of food are particularly popular among the youngest consumers, aged up to 24 years (66%), and among residents of the biggest cities, with over 500,000 inhabitants (63%).

Women are more likely than men to buy private labels of most categories. The gap is widest in the case of cosmetics (65% vs. 41%). The few product categories in which the reverse is true are consumer electronics, construction tools, and alcoholic drinks.

Heightened price sensitivity in pandemic helps private labels

The coronavirus pandemic and the economic crisis that it has triggered have made shoppers in Poland more sensitive about prices, our survey shows. One consequence is increased interest in private labels, especially among consumers who already were regular buyers of retailer brands when Covid struck.

Of those who buy private labels, 57% said price had become more of a factor in their purchases of food in the pandemic. More women said so than men (61% vs. 52%).

And 34% said they bought retailer brands more frequently in the pandemic. The proportion rose to 47% among those who reported buying private label products on a majority of their shopping trips, and to 48% among those who reported buying them on all or almost all of their shopping trips.

For more information, please see PMR report about Private label retail market in Poland 2020/2021.

Magdalena Filip

Senior Retail Analyst

A senior analyst with ten years of specialisation in the retail market in Poland and Central and Eastern Europe. Areas of specializations: clothing and footwear retail market, HoReCa market, and children’s products market.