Shop Talk

Retailers, consumers and prices

Check Out Line: Spitting out brand-name mouthwash

By Brad Dorfman
May 5, 2010

Check out slipping brand loyalty.

The lesson the recession taught many U.S. consumers is that they can do without their favorite brand, valueaccording to a new survey by comScore Inc.

Hardest hit was the mouthwash category, where only 44 percent of those surveyed in March said they buy the brand they most want. That is down from 61 percent in March 2008.

Shampoo also took a hit, down to 52 percent of people saying they buy the brand they want from 65 percent year earlier, Toothpaste, cough/cold and allergy medicine, jeans, fruit juice, laundry detergent and small appliances also saw double digit declines in loyalty.

The product that held up the best was paper towels, which slipped to 35 percent from 36 percent.

We would have thought that toilet paper would have seen the most loyalty, but that wasn’t listed in the survey results.

Also in the basket:

Walgreen same-store sales slip 0.2 percent

At Gap, two brands on mend, one to go (WSJ)

(Photo: Wal-Mart’s Great Value store brand, via Wal-Mart’s website.)

«
»

Post Your Comment

We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/
  •