Consumers considering wider variety of brands when deciding to buy -- NielsenIQ study

KUALA LUMPUR, July 21 (Bernama) -- Inflation has supercharged the importance of every investment and strategic effort made by smaller brands, said NielsenIQ Thought Leadership global director Lauren Fernandes.

She said as the cost of products rises, so does the cost of missing the mark with consumers’ expectations.

“The good news for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) is that despite many SMBs being largely 'unfamiliar' in terms of notoriety according to our recent study, consumers are considering a wider variety of brands when deciding what to buy,” she said in a statement in conjunction with the release of a new report.

NielsenIQ, a global information services company, is previewing findings from the Brand Balancing Act, a global study providing a perspective on how consumers perceive small and medium-sized brands in the new inflationary marketplace.

The findings revealed that amid supply chain challenges, inflationary pressures, and cautious consumer spending intentions, small brands face a challenging playing field.

By focusing on consumer brand preferences, performance benchmarking, trend-cycle timing, and meaningful differentiation, small and medium brands can leverage consumer responses of the volatile economy to their benefit.

NielsenIQ said large corporations have leverage against inflation and supply chain problems that smaller enterprises often struggle to weather, making the balancing act for SMBs a crucial, but potentially rewarding effort at this specific point in time.

The analysis also highlighted that among others, 56 per cent of global consumers prefer to buy locally made products from small businesses in their area; 57 percent try to support small brands where possible, but are finding it harder to find them on the shelf; and 51 per cent feel that small brands are more authentic and trustworthy than big brands.

NielsenIQ delivers the gold standard in consumer and retail measurement, through the most connected, complete, and actionable understanding of the evolving global, omnichannel consumer.

-- BERNAMA