There you are at the hypermart or pharmacy about to take hold of your trusted brand when suddenly you realise that the price has increased by 20%. Immediately your hand drops. Then you see another brand on the next row. It has the same function and ingredients. The only difference is, it’s way cheaper and the brand is a store brand.
Should you stay loyal to your trusted brand and suck up the 20% increase in price, chalking it up to “Oh well, that’s just inflation — a normal part of life!”? Or should you take the plunge and choose the house brand, and save a few sen or ringgit along the way?
To Be Loyal or Not To Be…
As a consumer, I totally understand being loyal to a trusted and favourite brand. For example, I have my favourite shampoo brand that does wonders to my hair and I would never trade it for any other brand. Unless, of course, it stops working its magic and makes my hair look like a mop rather than a mane. But until then, I would stick to that brand till death do us part. Or till they discontinue it (please, God, no!!!).
But for other stuff such as hand wash, snacks, supplements (Vit C, fruit essence, etc), tissues and the like, we don’t see why we shouldn’t switch to a house brand and save. In fact, this is the tagline that Watsons used in their recent campaign to promote their house brand, which is aptly called ‘Switch & Save‘.
Here are 3 reasons why we think house brands rock:
- It will save you money. House brands normally generate bigger margins and they are passed as cost-savings to consumers. After all, the packaging is generally simpler and there are no store listing fees incurred. In this slow economy, every sen counts. If you have a large family, making wise choices in everything you buy and consume can make a real difference. Shoppers can save up to 33% simply by making a switch to store brands. That is a lot of savings indeed – yup, even after taking the 6% GST into consideration!
- The quality is comparable, and sometimes better! A lot of R&D and quality testing went into the development of most store brands. Watsons has been doing this for the past 20 years and the quality of their own brand products are comparable and sometimes even better than the other “branded” goods. This is proven by the Watsons’ “Switch Test” challenge where the participants are asked to sample Brand A and Brand B and give their verdict on their preferred choice. Four out of five times I chose Watsons — yeah, they were that good.
- Extensive product range. Store brands normally have a wide variety of product ranges for you to choose from. Watsons has hundreds of products under its store brand and counting. So whatever you are looking to switch to a store brand, chances are you’ll find it.
So give store brands a try. You may end up gaining a new favourite brand while saving a lot of money in the process!