The Battle: Popular vs. Unpopular

 

During one of your shopping trips, had you ever need to make a decision on whether to  buy a store brand or a name brand? Well I know I had that dilemma whenever I went shopping because I want to get the most out of what I had paid for. I often find myself comparing the quality of the products by looking into the ingredients it is made out of. Whenever I am unsure I usually go for the name brand because they are well known, which means the quality is ensured right? This might not be the case because the unpopular store brands can actually be a comparable quality to name brands.

As we have discussed in class, the quality of a product is subjective. The customer’s expectations are influenced by three factors which are what you hear from others, how it meets personal needs, and past experiences from products. These expectations lead to the objective quality and the perceived quality. I have high expectations for name brands, because I was often told they are made with better quality than store brands. From my past experiences, store brands often have minimum quality compared to name brands which left me not satisfied. This often led me to always choose name brands because it is a safer choice, even if it costs me more.

I have read an article titled “Store-brand vs. name-brand taste-off”, where two products of the same type are compared  from either store or name brand by surveying consumers. As a result, many of the store brands are a comparable alternative to the name brands. The taste sensory test between the name and store brand resulted in a tie 10 times, name brand had won 8 times, and the store brand had won once. The quality is almost the exact same and makes it affordable for consumers.

The difference between store brands and name brands are how they were manufactured, which reflects on quality of the product itself. Name brands cost more because the companies invested money in the product for advertising, development, and research. This gives a better reputation and ensures quality of their product to their consumers. Whereas the store brands has little to no information available on where there product came from and is often sold for a lower price because they are not known. The qualities in both products are almost the same. Store brands should be given a chance and it will help you save money.

 

Questions:

  • Would you rather purchase name brand or store brand products? Why?
  • Do you think name brands guarantee quality of the product?
  • How much trust do you have in store brands over name brands?
  • What are your expectations in store brands?

 

Article: http://shopping.yahoo.com/news/store-brand-vs–name-brand-taste-off.html

12 thoughts on “The Battle: Popular vs. Unpopular

  1. When I make a choice between purchasing a store brand or named brand there are some times I base my decision on quality but most of the time, the choice is made because of brand loyalty. I care for the brand’s success so I invest my money into it. If I reach a point in my life where I can no longer afford to pay for brand name things then I guess I will have to switch to quality. It is useful information to know store quality is pretty close to brand quality but I don’t think judging something by its name can really help determine the quality of a product. It’s not that I don’t trust store brands but for most things I would rather my money go to the company who came up with the idea than someone who is trying to undercut them with their product.

  2. Your insight is interesting and I think very relevant to the everyday shoppers experience (and dilemma). Name brands are so desirable because they provide people will a feeling of safety, certainty, and quality–mostly due to perceived perception of various influence principles (social proof and authority). This concept reminds me of Name vs. Generic version of medicine.If you compare Tylenol and the generic version, it contains the exact same amount and identical type of the same ingredient. Is it actually the same in all aspects? Or are the Tylenol ingredients actually higher quality? What is done in the manufactoring stage that factors into this?
    I would probably purchase name brand for deodorant and toothpaste. But things like Tylenol
    I do not think name brands guarantee quality of the product. Well, depending on the product.
    I have more trust in name brands, but I get some items in the store brands because they are cheaper and not that important.

  3. I think that when it comes to shopping everybody is different, some people have brand loyalty while others simply will try to get the most for their money. For me what it really comes down to is the type of product that I am purchasing to determine if I buy the generic brand or the name brand. For instance when it comes to buying razors, I usually always will buy Gillette because from my experience they last longer, and work much better than say Bic razors. To me the extra money spent is worth it to not get razor burn every time I shave. However when it comes to say name brand cereal verse generic cereal, I go for which ever is cheapest because I honestly cannot tell if theres a significant difference. As far as the price variation there are a lot of different things that can determine this, but I think as you stated much of it has to do with production process, along with the associated costs of the product like advertising, marketing, and research. Overall I think its up to the individual to determine if the extra money spent on a brand name is worth it, for certain things I believe it is, for others I do not.

  4. Usually, if the item is a long-term investment such as clothes or electronics, I would go for the name brands. As for food, I’m not a picky person. I think generic brands are acceptable when talking about quality and price. If I’m on a budget, I would definitely go for the generic brands.

  5. When I go shopping, the most influencing factor for determining my purchase is quality. There are some things that I will always go to the brand name for because I have used them before, I liked their product and I want to support them. However, I will choose a generic or store brand product when I feel that there really isnt a lot of product differentiation. If I feel that a product is very simple and cant really be messed up then I will go for the store brand. An example of this would be paper towels. Paper towels are really all the same for me so I will generally buy whichever one gives me the most product for my money, which usually tends to be the generic kind. Another example of this for me are products like peanut butter, mayonnaise, or ketchup. I feel that the brands name products aren’t justifiably superior. I guess the only way to know for sure wether to purchase a brand name product or store brand, is through trial and error.

  6. I agree with f1232ddiaz in regard to the fact that quality is always the main factor that is behind my purchase decision. I believe that all my past brand name purchases have always been credible because they have satisfied whatever need I had for the product. On the other hand I am often unsatisfied with the purchase of generic or store brand because I feel that it does not satisfy my quality of standard. Although as others have commented, I do believe that my purchase decision could be influenced by the value associated with the good I am purchasing. For example, if I am shopping for an over the counter medicine in the pharmacy, I will always go for the name brand because my health is of high importance to me and therefore I want the best quality medicine. Although, if I am shopping for an item such as a pack of bottled waters, I will most likely get the generic or store brand because it would allow me to save money and it is not a product where I can obviously see a difference in quality between the generic brand and the name brand. Overall, I believe that every individual has their own preference when it comes to store brands versus name brands because it truly does depend what value the individual associates with each product.

  7. I usually buy name brands when I go grocery shopping. I do think that the quality of name brand guarantees my satisfaction. I have great amount of trust in name brands because I am willing to pay more. In my opinion generic brands are acceptable but not for every product.

  8. When it comes to food brands i really don’t pay as much attention. I think that some customers may go to specific brands because they feel comfortable and believe their brands are reliable and meets their satisfaction. In this case, companies should buy their way to get new buyers by putting their products in the right accessible shelfs, so that the buy’s eyes lay on them directly. they should also carefully package their products colorfully and conveniently. moreover, they have to always meet their existed customers demands to maintain their loyalty in the brand. Although one tend to choose their food products depending on the price and the turnover of the customer is constantly changing in that field, the vendor has to put these things on mind.

  9. In class we also learned that quality is subjective, and like many posters I find that I buy named brand versus store brand. I feel that many named brand items offer a thousand times better quality than store brand. I remember a shopping experience where I tried Tasty O’s instead of Cheerio’s and I was very displeased with the quality and therefore rarely trust store brand items. I however don’t think the problem with store brand items is quality rather than their an imitation for another product and are rarely the same as the real thing.

  10. From my point of view, I always go for name brands because I think it has a better quality, packaging, and guaranteed satisfaction. However, buying store brands instead of name brands can lead to big savings but most people have brand loyalty and are not willing to take the risk by trying different brands.

  11. For me, I would rather purchase store brand products because I believe store brand have same quality as name brand, and they are just not well known as name brand.
    This make me think about my experience shopping store brand and name brand. For example, I buy milk in Target, I would prefer to buy milk of name brand because it is cheaper then Dean’s this name brand, and it tastes no difference of name brand.
    People always think that name brand is well known so it has better quality of products. They should try store brand since store brand products have similar quality and cheaper price. Such as Aldi, the weekly ads always compare aldi store brand and name brand, it can give customers confidence to buy store brand.

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