UK consumers are shopping for value in the recession but are reluctant to compromise on quality, according to new research.


A study by Datamonitor showed that UK consumers are among the most sceptical in the world, with most not making wholesale changes to their consumption patterns in the grocery arena.


However, the primary influence for consumers is ‘the overall quality of products sold’. Only 36% of respondents in the UK cited ‘habit’ as being an important influence on where they shop for groceries, suggesting that store loyalty is not high.
 
Around 71% in the UK agree that they now wonder more whether they are getting value-for-money from their grocery purchases, and around one third are changing where they do their grocery shopping in a bid to save money.


“This provides opportunities for those industry players that can successfully find the ‘value sweet spot’ whereby the product or service meets or exceeds quality expectations, but at a price that is slightly less than expected. This applies to all sectors of consumer packaged goods,” said Daniel Bone, Datamonitor analyst and report author.
 
While some brand loyalty was seen among UK consumers, 43% agreed that they had recently given up some of their favourite grocery brands.


The research company said it is likely that consumers will maintain their purchasing patterns when economic conditions improve if they are satisfied with the quality of private label goods.

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