Private label products and consumer preferences: Bursa province case study

Retail sector is growing and becoming more important nowadays and it has started to come to the agenda due to the increase in the market power of private label products in recent years. The aim of the thesis is to examine the development process of private label products and to determine the opinions and preferences about these products of consumers who shop from supermarkets in Bursa. In this study, household questionnaire was applied to 148 consumers who are living in central district of Bursa in 2018. According to the results of the survey, 86% of consumers purchased private label products. The percentage of consumers who do not purchase private label products is 14% and these consumers consider these products to be "poor quality". One of the main reasons why consumers buy private label products is that their price is more favourable than other products (43%). The rate of consumers who think that these products are both economical and high quality is 23%. Food products with a rate of 52% and cleaning agents with a rate of 40% are preferred in market branded products. The criteria that consumers take into consideration when buying private label products vary according to product categories. While quality is very important for food and cosmetic products, price is the leading factor in textiles and cleaning products. It has been determined that the demographic characteristics of consumers vary according to the place where they buy private label products. Based on these data, consumer profiles are extracted according to the markets where consumers buy the most private label products. Today, the rapid development of private label products is an advantage for consumers as long as the price - quality perception is balanced, but it is seen as risky for damaging national brands and creating seller monopoly.