Boomer or buster? In housewares, age matters - discount house consumers' preferences for brand name housewares products

Discount Store News, Oct 18, 1993

Housewares brand preference among consumers is influenced more by their stage in life than by whether they are frequent shoppers of Wal-Mart, Kmart or Target, based on DSN's Annual Top Brands survey of consumers conducted by Chicago-based Leo J. Shapiro & Associates.

With that said, the unique positioning of Target, both in terms of store demographics and upscale housewares assortments, did lead to subtle differences in brand preferences between Target shoppers and consumers who had shopped either Wal-Mart or Kmart within the past 12 months.

Wal-Mart and Kmart shoppers generally named the same Top 10 preferred brands in housewares, but Target differed somewhat. If the 10 most frequently named brands by Target customers were listed, the list would include Revere and Wearever, but would not include Mr. Coffee, Ekco or Braun.

Roughly 68% of Wal-Mart, Kmart and Target shoppers said they had a preferred brand in housewares. While the level is fairly consistent among the chains, when brand preference is examined by demographic group, the results are much different.

Boomers, those between age 35 and 49, were most likely to have a preferred housewares brand. More than 72% singled out a brand in the category. Busters, those under age 35, were least likely to name a preferred brand, with 60% naming a housewares brand they would want.

Busters' lower standard of living in comparison to older consumers could be a factor in their lack of brand preference. This group was also most willing to accept a private label or store brand in housewares. Seven percent of Busters volunteered the name of a store brand, compared with under 5% for each of the other two demographic groups. And, if directly asked if there would be a chance that they would buy a store brand in housewares, the level of acceptance rises in all age groups, but more than 7 out of 10 consumer under age 35 would consider a private label housewares purchase.

Rubbermaid was the preferred brand in all demographic groups and among shoppers of each of the Big Three in discounting. Among the comparatively less brand-conscious Busters, Corning was second most often mentioned while General Electric was the second most frequently named brand of both Empty Nesters (50 or older) and Boomers.

Nearly four out of 10 consumers said they were sure they would find the brand they wanted in the housewares department of the chain they shopped most often.

A review of the complete study finds that consumers' confidence in finding preferred brands at their discount store ranged from a low of less than three out of 10 in the consumer electronics category to a high level of certainty in film, where more than six out of 10 consumers said they would expect to find their preferred brand.

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