According to a study recently published in Marketing Weekly News, consumers are still shopping for the top, high-price brands, but doing so at mass retailers.”Electronics and department stores continue to see the largest loss of shoppers and have the worst conversion rate with about half of shoppers leaving without making a purchase. 

“Mass market retailers such as Walmart and Target are showing a five point increase in shoppers visiting them more often, from previous months, and have the best conversion rate with nine out of ten shoppers leaving the store having made a purchase.” 

No one REALLY wants to give up their favorite name brands, whether it’s a  Sony flat-screen TV or Frederic Fekkai hair products, but consumers are buying them at Wal-Mart and Target, respectively. We Americans have a love for brands, and the cache that brand name is perceived to carry, so this trend will no doubt continue well beyond the holidays. 

The study also showed that consumers are beginning to define value differently. Today, more often consumers are attributing value to price, where the past couple months it was defined as an equal balance between quality and price. So if  Target can keep up its trend of enticing high-end designers like Rodarte and Devi Kroll, and H+M  the likes of Karl Lagerfeld and Stella McCartney, and you can find Marc Jacobs, Giuseppe Zanotti and Prada shoes at DSW, most of us are going to shop discount. It’s a brilliant win-win for the retailers, designers and the consumer with designer tastes and discount budgets.    

Story Source: “Study Shows Consumers Will Purchase Top Value Brands at Mass Retail.” Marketing Weekly News. 2009. HighBeam Research. (December 21, 2009). http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-214061765.html