I’ll go with the house brand almost every time, simply because they are exactly the same as the brand name product.
The rare exceptions are usually
A) there is no house brand available, or the store is out of stock on it, so I “settle” for the more expensive brand because I have an immediate need for the product.
B) A particular brand was recommended to me by someone who has tried several brands of the same/similar product. I use Alcon Opti-Free contact lens products because a former coworker recommended it. My eyes are kind of sensitive and I had a mild, but unpleasant experience with the Bausch and Lomb product that the vision store gave away free with my contact lenses. The Alcon stuff didn’t bother my eyes, and I know the house brand contains the same formula as the Bausch and Lomb stuff, so I stick with what I know my eyes like.
Most people are cattle. I think your average schmuck buys the name brand because “I need peanut butter”, and Jif, or Skippy, or whatever they’ve seen advertised the most appears before them, and people tend to keep buying the same brand over and over. I don’t think much thought is put into what brand to purchase.
I’m also a label reader, and I tend to go for the brand that has the fewest ingredients whose names I can’t pronounce. My favorite brand of tortilla chips has an ingredients list that consists of “corn, water, salt”. They taste a lot better than the better known brands.
I actually had that happen once with a generic supermarket cereal – I thought I was getting one thing, but got another instead. Haven’t gone back to the generic as a result.
I can put the generic version in a box of Fruity Pebbles (the Kunilou kids love Fruity Pebbles) and my kids will dump it in the sink after one bite. They swear the generic version is “more lemony.”
Generic paper products generally suck. The paper towels fall apart, the toilet paper is thin and the tissues are rough.
A couple of years ago Consumer Reports tested batteries, and determined there WERE differences between brands.
The big issue is not just quality, but consistency. Since generics use whatever manufacturer offers them the best deal at that time, one batch can be different than the rest.
And Tracer, believe it or not, Sears actually did sell a “generic” car (I don’t off the top of my head know if they labeled it Kenmore) for a couple of years in the late 1940s or early 1950s. It was a compact made by Crosley (they still make appliances) and believe it or not, it was actually lower quality (cheaper interior) than the “name brand” version.
People also buy brand name products to look better in front of people. A teenager will look “cool” if they have the Nike logo across their chest. A mum will show off her new Westinghouse stove to her friends. If a family buys brand name things it looks as though they are very comfortable, not in money trouble.
A lot of it is an image thing.
Personally, with clothes i go out of my way to NOT have big names showing. That’s probably silly too though, still being affected by the media, even if I’ve reacted differently…
I buy name-brand products only when I know they’re better than the store brand. Store-brand butter and coffee, for instance, just don’t taste right. Most other staple foods are fine, but stores tend to do a poor job on luxury or ethnic foods. (I bought generic basmati rice once and wasn’t impressed at all – and don’t get me started on ice cream.)
On the other hand, chain restaurants are pretty consistently worse than non-chain ones. If the only choices are McDonalds and Joe’s Diner, I’ll go for Joe’s every time.
I second. Unless I am homesick (as when I travel for long periods of time) and then I will yearn for familiarity, then continue to bask in the culture I am surrounded by.
