Household Size and Brand Perception: The Case of Store Brands in Zimbabwe

An assessment was made of the effect of family size on store brand perception. It was hypothesized that larger households because of resources constraints would have a higher perception of store brands. A survey of 43 households was conducted in Harare, Bulawayo and Bindura and their perception of store brands was captured along three dimensions which were perceived quality, value and risk. The results from the regression analysis illustrated that the effect of household size was significant for perceived value (p=0.003) and perceived risk (p<0.0001). Regarding perceived quality there was no significant (p>0.05) effect of family size. Specifically there was a strong negative correlation between family size and perceived risk for store brands and a strong positive correlation between family size and perceived value. The authors concluded that when family size is bigger there is a higher chance that the main shoppers will tryout lower priced brands that are on the market and this is because of resource constraints. This pattern of consumer behavior will lead to greater familiarity of store brands among larger households and consequently lower perceived risk and a higher value perception. Retailers can drive the growth of private label brands among price conscious consumers through the development of advertisements which communicate the fact that store brands offer economic advantage to large households without compromise of quality.