How shoppers see a supermarket’s own-label products

What is shaping retail

Retailers and D2C brands compete across stores, apps and marketplaces. Store experience, availability and convenience decide where shoppers go next.

• Shoppers move freely between online and offline
• Store experience is a key differentiator
• Loyalty programmes and personalisation drive repeat

A supermarket chain, working in France & Germany. Client identity is withheld to protect confidentiality.

Organisation

A supermarket chain

Sector

Retail

Team engaged

Market Research

Services

Consumer panel, Quantitative research, Qualitative research

The supermarket chain wanted to grow its own-label range, which offered better margins, but shoppers in France and Germany often chose familiar brands. The chain did not know whether shoppers doubted own-label quality or simply did not notice the products.

• Answer the core question: how shoppers see a supermarket’s own-label products.
• Understand the views, needs and behaviour of shoppers.
• Measure how widespread each pattern is, and explain the reasons behind it.
• Give the client evidence it can act on within 6 weeks.

The work focused on 2,000 shoppers.

• shoppers2,000

Audiences we typically reach in retail

ShoppersStore staff and managersOnline customersLoyalty membersFranchisees

Coverage: France & Germany. Markets: France and Germany.

• France
• Germany

A mixed-method design: structured research measured how widespread each pattern was, and qualitative conversations explained why.

1. 1Brief
2. 2Online survey
3. 3Blind product tests
4. 4Insight

We surveyed shoppers about their perceptions of own-label and branded products across categories, then ran blind tests in which participants compared unlabelled products and rated taste and quality. Blind tests covered staple categories such as pasta, coffee, cleaning products and breakfast cereals.

Consumer panelQuantitative researchQualitative research

shoppers

2,000

• Online respondents were drawn from verified panel members who matched the screening criteria, with quotas on key profile attributes.
• Qualitative participants were recruited purposively to cover the full range of experiences that mattered, rather than for statistical representation.

blind tests

400

• The online survey was mobile-friendly and offered in respondents' languages.
• Interviews and discussions were led by experienced moderators using a guide agreed with the client.

• Digital fingerprinting and duplicate checks
• Attention, speed and straight-lining checks
• Review of open-ended answers
• Recordings and transcripts for every session
• Re-screening of qualitative recruits
• Logic and range checks on the final data
• Work carried out under our ISO 20252 quality procedures

• Cross-tabulation by key groups and locations
• Significance testing on the differences that mattered
• Comparison of concepts, messages or products against each other
• Thematic coding of interviews and discussions
• Journey and decision mapping

• Blind tests provided evidence to challenge shoppers’ assumptions.

• Build on the core insight: blind tests provided evidence to challenge shoppers’ assumptions.
• Re-measure after the changes to confirm the effect.

• Several own-label products matched or beat leading brands in blind tests, but shoppers assumed they were inferior.
• The chain introduced shelf messaging highlighting comparison results and improved own-label packaging.
• Own-label sales grew in the categories where comparison messaging was introduced.

What changed in the business as a result of the work. Impact is described qualitatively.

• Insight report and management presentation
• Cleaned data file and data tables
• Interview summaries and key verbatims

• Repeat the measure after changes are in place to track progress.
• A natural follow-on question: where does the online funnel leak?