Cost of living: Four out of five British consumers ditch well-known brands for cheaper alternatives

Forbes Advisor, the price comparison and financial guidance platform, surveyed 2,000 British adults to discover how supermarket shopping behaviour has changed over the last six months.

The survey showed that out of the four-in-five Brits switching their goods, more than half (58 per cent) have changed the majority of their groceries to help their weekly budget stretch further.

Investigating this further, Forbes Advisor asked shoppers of the traditional supermarket chains which own-brand labels they have turned to in the last six months. Tesco came out on top with 38 per cent of consumers turning to their value range, followed by Sainsbury's own-brand (33 per cent) and Asda’s Just Essentials (28 per cent).

With cheaper and supermarket own-branded products growing in popularity, Forbes Advisor explored whether British consumers feel they are sacrificing quality.

Almost two-in-five shoppers (39 per cent) claimed that cheaper or supermarket own-brand products are generally just as good as the previous go-to brands they switched away from.

However, over a third (36 per cent) said that, while the quality was worse, it was justified by the cheaper price tag.

The study further unveiled which of Britain’s biggest brands people are most reluctant to substitute from their weekly supermarket shop.

The research showed that consumers are most loyal to brands such as Fairy, Coca Cola, Cadbury’s, Heinz and Kelloggs.

Laura Howard, money expert at Forbes Advisor, said: “Food prices have been steadily climbing during the course of the year.

“According to a survey of 4,963 households carried out by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) between August 31 and September 11, a staggering 98 per cent of households cited the ‘increased price of food shopping’ as the main cause of tighter budgets.

“As our latest research shows, the stark reality of these figures has meant that ‘brand loyalty’ is fast being shunted down the list of consumer priorities.

“With winter on its way, now is the time to squeeze as much out of your supermarket spend as possible. This could mean collecting and spending loyalty points or buying discounted products nearing the end of their shelf life and chucking them in the freezer.”

For more information, visit https://www.forbes.com/uk/advisor/energy/cost-of-living-crisis/