Brand Loyalty across Europe

Central Europeans attach less importance to the brands of the products they purchase, compared with consumers in Britain, according to the Brand Loyalty Study from Taylor Nelson Sofres published this week. The results coincide with the launch of Omnimas, a TNS omnibus service, in Central Europe.

The study compared consumer attitudes and loyalty to branded products in Britain, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia. The findings confirm that people in Britain have the highest preference for branded products overall, with more than six out of ten (61 per cent) people in Britain purchasing a specific cosmetic or perfume brand. This compares to less than 40 per cent of people in Poland (39 per cent) and the Czech republic (38 per cent) who regularly purchase a specific cosmetic or perfume brand. People in Britain are also more selective about purchasing both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks compared to other countries surveyed.

The lowest preferences for purchasing specific branded products are found for clothing (21 per cent in Poland rising to 38 per cent in UK) and food (14 per cent in the Czech Republic rising to 37 per cent in Britain).

The findings also reveal that branded products are perceived as higher quality items, but overall, especially amongst Central European consumers, the functionality and the price are more important than the brand.

Purchasers of branded products prefer them because they like and trust the brands. Central European consumers also choose branded goods because they last longer and are perceived as high quality products. Polish consumers buy branded goods out of habit more often than the other countries surveyed. Slovaks are driven by price and tend to look for discounted products, but tend to refuse to purchase unknown products.

Factors such as product packaging and social pressures to purchase specific brands have less influence when deciding to purchase a branded item. The influence of social environment is weakest in Hungary.

According to Ivan Tomek, Regional Head of Research for Consumer Sector said 'Differences in brand value clearly exist across different markets and as such it is important for product marketers to evaluate the impact of country and regional differences on product perception.'

The Brand Loyalty Study preliminary report is available from the company website www.tnsofres.com/freereport.cfm

Omnimas is a face-to-face omnibus conducted by Taylor Nelson Sofres in the UK, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and Hungary. The Brand Loyalty Study was undertaken in the first quarter of 2002. In each country a representative national sample of approximately 1000 people was surveyed.

All articles 2006-22 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas unless otherwise stated.

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