Polish consumers – do they buy private labels? Are they familiar with smart shopping?
2020-05-24

Marcin Rzepka, the Head of Research Services, has given a presentation about Polish consumers and their shopping habits at the SHOPPER MARKETING CONGRESS in Warsaw.

Below is a short summary, containing some of the ideas presented by Marcin.

As in many European countries, private labels in Poland are on the rise. They are not only expanding in terms of sales value, but also evolving. Own brands are offering an increasingly favourable ratio of quality to price, fitting in better with the concept of smart shopping.

According to the estimations of PMR analysts the value of the private label market in Poland reached PLN 24.6bn In and PLN 29.9bn In which translates into a 21% growth.

In the 1990s Polish consumers revelled in consumption, as expensive shopping elevated their social status. Nowadays the status is created more by smart shopping and resourcefulness.

Having become accustomed to the free market, Polish consumers are fairly suspicious of manufacturers and distributors of the cheapest products, anxious that they could be a hoax or a marketing trick. They do, however, appreciate high quality products from the private label category. The trust is built through the producer brand, as in the case of Biedronka, which sells products of well-known manufacturers at attractive prices, or through the chain brand, as in the case of Lidl.

In the context of these market trends, the position of top brands has come under serious threat, and many are observing drops in sales. High quality at an affordable price, trust, security, being smart are now values offered by the cheaper private labels. Brand products can still compete with them in terms of innovation, the only area own brands will not be able to occupy for a long time to come.


For the purposes of the presentation we have carried out a consumer survey, discussed in full in the upcoming report "Private label in Poland" (now available edition).