House brand promotion begins at Sainsbury's

Sainsbury-sponsored research found that 62% of shoppers said they were more likely to buy supermarket own-brand products than a year ago, causing the retailer to launch its 'Switch & Save' campaign. The campaign is designed to encourage people to try out more of the supermarket's 15,000 own-brand products.

According to the survey, around one third (35%) of all shoppers believe that top brands will need to improve quality dramatically to battle supermarket own-brand goods, while another 35% think that leading brands represent a pointless added expense.

Justin King, chief executive, explains that buying the house brand could help customers save 20% on groceries.

Both Carrefour, the French supermarket group, and Ahold, its Dutch peer, last week said they were focusing more on own-brand goods, which are typically cheaper for consumers but carry higher profit margins for retailers.

"In the current economic climate many people have been changing their shopping habits, happily switching into supermarket own-brand as they believe this is now a very socially acceptable thing to do," according to consumer psychologist Cathrine Jansson-Boyd.