The pressure for brands was intensive with the second lockdown, according to research by the University of Patras, in the sense that consumers accustomed to previous years continue to seek the offers of branded products sacrificing part of their loyalty to them.


Friday, February 26, 2021


When the ban announced for the second time, the loyalty to the brands reduced significantly. This phenomenon is likely to intensify due to the economic consequences of the pandemic. As shown in Table 1, the promos were preferred in both periods of general ban, as almost half of the shoppers bought products under promo.

Table 1. During the COVID-19 crisis ...
we buy more brands that have an offer

The percentage of shoppers who decided to purchase new brands was increased during the second lockdown. (Table 2).

Table 2. During the COVID-19 crisis ...
we are trying new brands 

The researchers also observed that shoppers remain loyal to the choice of Greek products, with 1/3rd of them being led to the local products’ shelf during the pandemic. Greek products are evaluated as the ones with better quality and safety compared to imported ones, though are considered more expensive. Specifically the 15.9% of the sample, stated that the made in Greece products have better prices, the 51.1% stated of better quality and the 33.1% about safety.

* The research was carried out by the Laboratory of Business Organization and Management of the Rural Area of ??the Department of Business Administration of Agricultural Products and Food of the University of Patras. The scientific director of the research is the Director of the laboratory, Prokopis Theodoridis, Associate Professor of Marketing. The research team included Theofanis Zacharatos and Dimitris Gikas, PhD candidates of the Department as well as Dr. Vasiliki Boukouvala, collaborator of the laboratory. 2,235 questionnaires were used for the research, while the sample consisted of 37% men and 63% women

Christina Papagianni

Source: Food Reporter #0441/09-02-2021