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Friday, September 4, 2009

Demand for premium despite recession

Mintel are reporting on some interesting news in the UK. They claim that shoppers are still turning to premium products, despite generally trading down as part of the recession. And remember that the recession have hit Britain much worse than Sweden... So as far as trading down goes - what do the cash-strapped British shoppers do. Well some of them have traded-down from brands to own-label (but remember that own label is of high quality in the UK). Shoppers also claim to save money by purchasing more products on special offers, with 54% reporting buying more deals. Some 51% claim to eat out less, while 21% says that they buy more products from discount retailers such as Aldi and Lidl.

This is not surprising at all - the interesting news are that as consumers claim to have saved money by splashing out less, they also claim to treat themselves more on products such as confectionery or premium ready meals. I think this is really interesting news. I have been told so many times by fellow marketeers that the recession will hit hard on premium foods - I don't think it will! Consumers have different needs and their demand for nice foodstuffs won't disappear due to the recession. And food is not particularly expensive if you compare to other goods. It is certainly easier to treat yourself to a nice pack of chocolates or a good bottle of wine rather than a new car...

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