Three from four consumers say a brand’s origin matters the most

65 percent of Hungarian consumers say their shopping decisions are more influenced by where brands come from (global/multinational or local) than nine other factors such as price, taste, function or packaging. The same average was 67 percent at European level and 75 percent at world level. Patrick Dodd, Nielsen’s president of global sales told that this was a surprising result of the survey conducted with more than 30,000 consumers.

When they were asked what the most important decision-making factor is when buying global and local brands, the answer was the same in all regions: at world level 42 percent picked a global brand and 43 percent chose a local brand because of the better price-value ratio. Positive experiences were the second most important factor, named by 32 percent for global brands and by 28 percent for local brands. Worldwide 21 percent of consumers said national pride was the reason they purchased a local brand and not a global one. In Hungary this proportion was higher, 26 percent (the European average was 18 percent).

When it comes to buying fresh food, local brands are the leaders. For instance in Hungary 79 percent of consumers prefer fresh vegetables and 76 percent fresh fruits that come from Hungary. National brands are also popular in the drink category where consumer taste can vary greatly across regions. On the contrary, carbonated soft drink buyers like to buy global brands more. Consumers prefer international body and beauty care brands all over the world. /