Consumer perception of private labels: A case study of the Czech Republic

Private brands are currently relatively well accepted by consumers and are generally considered to be of high quality, yet they face various challenges that can threaten their sustainability. This has been confirmed by several authors looking at consumer perceptions of private labels across different countries. The aim of the study was to assess consumers’ attitudes and relationships towards private brands and to identify factors that may influence their purchasing decisions. To achieve the objectives, a questionnaire survey was used, where the research sample consisted of 239 people shopping in retail food stores in the Czech Republic, of different gender, age, level of education, and monthly income. It was found that consumers perceive private brands positively in most cases. Using the Friedman test, it was found that consumers care most about low price and quality when buying private brands, while they attach the least importance to the appearance of the packaging. Based on the decision tree, it was revealed that private brands are mostly purchased by women who are employed, students or those on maternity leave, those who have lower incomes and who are under 25 years of age. The results of the logistic regression confirmed that lower price and reasonable quality increase the chance of buying private labels. These findings, such as consumer perception of private brands, and frequency of purchase, are very important to determine appropriate marketing strategy. Based on an effective strategy, retailers can then aim to increase the number of products sold and customer loyalty.