#store-brand-myths

#store-brand-myths

Boomers are far more likely than any other group to be aware of price increases. When prices go up, they cut back on non-essential items and avoid impulse buys, with just 53% succumbing to them.

Easter Sunday is not the ideal day to stock up on groceries, so plan ahead. Aldi, Costco, H-E-B, Target, and Sam's Club are all closed.

Whole Foods has endured a bruising time on this side of the Atlantic since entering the British market in 2004. Turnover at its UK arm fell seven per cent to £86.4 million in the year to December 2024, while pre-tax losses hit £20 million.

The convenience of sourcing online is fraught with more pitfalls than most of us want to admit. Try finding adequate photos of a vintage piece's condition-close-ups of the fabric, video of damaged areas, any images of a piece's rear or underside!

Whole Foods' vegan vanilla cupcakes are praised for their fluffy and moist texture, making them a top choice for those seeking plant-based options. Customers enjoy the well-balanced frosting made with vegan cream cheese, which complements the cupcake perfectly.

He says he paid roughly $5 to his distributor to get the pack of Honey Bunches of Oats onto the shelf. But his much larger rivals, the big US supermarket chains, can sell that same box for around $5 - essentially, the price he has to pay wholesale. That dynamic makes it "impossible for us to compete."

Aldi's Summit series has been causing waves online since its release. One user compared the taste of the Berry Waves to a blue Jolly Rancher and called it 'really, really tasty.' Some drinks have kind of a nasty aftertaste, but this one tastes really good.

"When you're a public company, your scorecard is your stock price, and that has a lot to do with the results you generate. If the investment community doesn't think very highly of department stores, which they don't, your multiple goes down."

Albertsons is nursing a 'merger hangover' after the Federal Trade Commission blocked a $24.6 billion marriage to Kroger, leading to store closures across the country.

Costco sells its products with very little markup, choosing instead to make most of its money from membership sales. This business model makes sense: The better deals it has, the more likely people are to want a membership. Memberships at Costco are booming. In the fiscal first quarter of 2026, overall memberships were up 5% year over year to 146 million. And its higher-priced executive memberships were up a stronger 9%.

As prices climb, shoppers aren't just spending less-they're spending differently. Nearly half are buying smaller quantities or trading down to lower-cost options, such as canned fruit instead of fresh, according to Capgemini's report, "What matters to today's consumers 2026." It's not about cutting things out entirely-it's about making budgets stretch. Low- and middle-income households are especially deal-focused right now: more coupons, more frequent but smaller trips, and fewer meals out.

Retailer-owned products not being seen as a cheap alternative anymore, but instead, a way to convey luxury and exclusivity. Price-Led Positioning is No Longer Dominating UK Supermarkets. Small UK businesses are aggressively growing, with price-led positioning becoming a dated trend. It's becoming evident that brands are no longer using their own branded products as a way to be a cheap alternative.

Discounting has been part of retail's toolkit for decades, and it can be effective, especially during high-stakes shopping seasons. But as promotions become more frequent across the industry, companies are taking a closer look at the downside: Short-term sales gains don't always come with long-term loyalty or durable margins, and customers remember how a brand made them feel far more than what they saved at checkout.

The outlook for 2026 I'm watching 2026 with equal parts optimism and urgency. Optimism because consumer demand is still there. Retail sales have remained resilient in recent data. Urgency because the operating environment is only getting tighter. Coming out of FY2025, large retailers demonstrated resilience amid inflation pressure, shifting consumer behavior, and global supply-chain complexity. Walmart raised its outlook and leaned further into a model that blends physical stores, e-commerce scale, and execution discipline.