IN SUMMARY: Private label sales are climbing and all of a sudden business people are asking “is branding dead?” The answer
Many Americans aren’t experiencing an “economic miracle” under Trump. Nearly half — 48 percent — of Americans say they believe economic conditions are worsening. That’s up from 45 percent in December and 36 percent in November, according to a January Gallup poll.
In addition, economic data shows that the GOP’s tax bill benefit to workers never materialized. The much-touted bonuses did little to boost workers’ paychecks. In the past 12 months, cash bonuses only gave workers an extra 2 cents in average hourly compensation, adjusted for inflation.
So what do brands do? They raise prices. Are they really that stupid? Yes.
Consumers know that brands are nothing more than big corporations and these corporations used the GOP tax cut to pad their balance sheet. Why, in a divided economy, would anyone in their right mind pay more for a branded product when private label products are, to them, essentially the same at a lower price?
Brands that are feeling it the most are the ones who compete in the grocery aisles. Trader Joe’s is doing very well with their private label brand and grocers are adding more private label categories squeezing out national brands.
While brands are stuck doing PowerPoints, analyzing big data and trying to integrate AI into their marketing consumers are saying “we don’t care because you’re not worth my money”.
