Shopping on line can be easy, simple and save you lots of money. It can also take a lot of your time, frustrate you, and result in unwanted purchases. Now the same can be said for regular high street shopping, but with the vast opportunity presented by the Internet it will pay you to spend a few minutes reading this and understanding how to better optimize your Generic Brand shopping experience:
1. Compare - without doubt the biggest advantage that the Generic Brand offers shoppers today is the ability to compare thousands of Generic Brand at a time. This is a great thing, but not necessarily all the time! Too much can be daunting at times so take advantage of the great comparison sites and where possible let them do the hard work for you.
2. Research - if it has been said it will be on the internet. Ignorance is no longer a justifiable reason for buying the wrong thing. Take the time to research in detail everything that you could possible want to know about
3. Testimonials - don't know anybody that has bought a Generic Brand? Wrong! If the Generic Brand is good the internet will let you know. Use the Internet as a friend and get testimonials before you buy.
4. Questions - Got a question about Generic Brand then search the Forums, FAQ's, Blogs etc. Don't be afraid to ask .....
5. Reputation - Never heard of the company selling Generic Brand? Don't worry, no reason why you should know every company in the world, but you know someone that does! Use the internet to find out what people are saying about Generic Brand and build up a picture of their reputation for sales, returns, customer service, delivery etc.
6. Returns - still worried that even after all of the above your Generic Brand wont be what you want? Check out the returns policy. There is so much competition now that someone, somewhere is bound to offer the terms that you are comfortable with.
7. Feedback - happy with your Generic Brand then let people know, after all you are depending on others people input in your buying decision, so why not give a little back.
8. Security - check for the yellow padlock on the Generic Brand site before you buy, and the s after http:/ /i.e. https:// = a secure site
9. Contact - got a question about Generic Brand, or want to leave a comment then check out the sites contact page. Reputable companies have them and respond.
10. Payment - ready to pay for your Generic Brand, then use your credit card or PayPal! Be aware of companies that don't accept them, there may be genuine reasons but given the huge amount of choice you have when buying online there is no reason at all not to buy via credit card or PayPal.
Generic brands of consumer products (often supermarket goods) are distinguished by the absence of a
brand name.
They may be manufactured by less prominent companies, or manufactured on the same production line as a 'named' brand. Generics brands are usually priced below those products sold by
supermarkets under their
own brand (frequently referred to as "store brands" or "own brands"). Generally they imitate these more expensive brands, competing on price. Generic brand products are often of equal quality as a branded product, however the quality may change suddenly in either direction with no change in the packaging if the supplier for the product changes.
Jewel Companies is credited with selling the first
supermarket Generic Brand product line in 1977 Milwaukee Journal column on supermarket firsts - no name or pictures on the packaging - only what the contents are, a
UPC code, and the required product information in a white package with an avocado-green stripe. These first generics even cut out such extras such as the flip top on soda cans, requiring a can opener to open them up the old-fashioned way.
Jewel followed this idea up by reusing some former small store locations, converting them to a concept called
No Frills in several Chicago area locations. The last such store they opened, called
Magna in Rockford, Illinois, tried selling a limited number of store brands and discount name brand merchandise. They closed all these stores after only a couple years at most; Magna opened and closed last.
In the early 1980's, generic products in the United States had plain white labels with blue or black lettering, or yellow labels with black lettering, describing what the product was (i.e.: "Yellow Cake Mix", "Tuna In Water", "Chocolate Flavor Syrup", "Deodorant Soap") with little other information, save for any ingredients and preparation information required, but no brand name at all on the front panel. This was during a sharp economic downturn when many consumers were placing more emphasis on value than on brand loyalty. In the U.S. industrial
Midwest, a region especially hard hit by the recession, generics became a common sight in supermarkets and discount stores.
from the 1980s.
Some supermarket chains had their own "brand" of unbranded items. Examples:
Pathmark had a subdued version of their company logo incorporated into the small red and white band at the bottom of the label, with the words "NO FRILLS".
The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company had their generic products with white labels with green ink, and their "A&P" logo was replaced with "P&Q" (presumably standing for "Price and Quality").
Comparison to Store Brands
Today, such stark package design is rarely used. Lower priced products today usually bear the name of the store or
supermarket where it is sold, or the name of the distribution (business) that supplies that store. A variation on this that is common in the United States is private labeling: brand names owned by the store that sells the product, that are not the same as the name of the store. For example, supermarket chain
Safeway, Inc. sells contract-packed dairy products under the
Lucerne brand, while the
Kroger's line of supermarkets sells products under several names, ranging from the top quality
Private Selection down to the budget-driven line
Kroger's#For Maximum Value (For Maximum Value).
Sometimes
Store brand are referred to as
house brands or
home brands. In the
United Kingdom they are often referred to as
own brands.
Membership-based "
warehouse club" stores have begun their own contract-packed brands. The Wal-Mart owned "
Sam's Club" sells products under the name
Member's Mark,
Costco sells products under the name
Kirkland Signature (a reference to corporate home office location,
Kirkland, Washington), and
BJ's Wholesale Club sells products branded
Berkley & Jensen.
Generic Drugs
Patents may prohibit generic brand manufacturing. In the specific case of medication, new drugs are almost always patented and therefore generic versions of drugs may only be made legally in most of the world when the patents expire. As with other generic products,
generic drugs are much cheaper due to both competition and the fact that research and marketing costs do not need to be factored in.
Generic Products in Popular Culture
The generic style can be observed in the 1984 cult film,
Repo Man, in which all of the consumable products in the movie have the old-style blue and white generic packaging, especially the beer cans (labeled "Beer"). Other products in the film include "Drink" and "Food - Meat Flavored". Reportedly, this was out of necessity, since a proposed sponsor for the movie, who would have used "
product placement" sponsorship, canceled in mid-production.
In 1982, the punk rock group Flipper (band) made light of this concept with an album entitled
Album - Generic Flipper, with generic black on yellow artwork. In 1986,
Public Image Ltd. released an album entitled
Album (album), featuring generic blue on white artwork. The cassette and CD versions of this PiL release were entitled "Cassette" and "Compact Disc" respectively. A promotional poster for "Album" had similar artwork, bearing the legend "Poster".
In 1984, Marvel Comics also produced a novelty
one-shot (comics) comic entitled "The Generic Comic Book" (complete with a black and white all-text front cover) in which a young man undergoes a stereotypical superhero transformation. In this case, exposure to glow-in-the-dark novelties gives him increased, but not superhuman, strength. He then dons a costume made entirely of white, off-the-rack clothing items such as a football helmet. In keeping with the 'No Name" theme of generics, the superhero of this single-issue book is never named.
On the show
Everybody Hates Chris,
Chris Rock states that he used to only have nonfrills products in his household. One in particular was a giant chocolate-chip cookie in a bag. On the bag, the word COOKIE was written.
References
See also
Generic brands of consumer products (often supermarket goods) are distinguished by the absence of a
brand name.
They may be manufactured by less prominent companies, or manufactured on the same production line as a 'named' brand. Generics brands are usually priced below those products sold by supermarkets under their
own brand (frequently referred to as "store brands" or "own brands"). Generally they imitate these more expensive brands, competing on price. Generic brand products are often of equal quality as a branded product, however the quality may change suddenly in either direction with no change in the packaging if the supplier for the product changes.
Jewel Companies is credited with selling the first supermarket
Generic Brand product line in 1977 Milwaukee Journal column on supermarket firsts - no name or pictures on the packaging - only what the contents are, a UPC code, and the required product information in a white package with an avocado-green stripe. These first generics even cut out such extras such as the flip top on soda cans, requiring a can opener to open them up the old-fashioned way.
Jewel followed this idea up by reusing some former small store locations, converting them to a concept called
No Frills in several Chicago area locations. The last such store they opened, called
Magna in Rockford, Illinois, tried selling a limited number of store brands and discount name brand merchandise. They closed all these stores after only a couple years at most; Magna opened and closed last.
In the early 1980's, generic products in the United States had plain white labels with blue or black lettering, or yellow labels with black lettering, describing what the product was (i.e.: "Yellow Cake Mix", "Tuna In Water", "Chocolate Flavor Syrup", "Deodorant Soap") with little other information, save for any ingredients and preparation information required, but no brand name at all on the front panel. This was during a sharp economic downturn when many consumers were placing more emphasis on value than on brand loyalty. In the U.S. industrial
Midwest, a region especially hard hit by the recession, generics became a common sight in supermarkets and discount stores.
from the 1980s.
Some supermarket chains had their own "brand" of unbranded items. Examples:
Pathmark had a subdued version of their company logo incorporated into the small red and white band at the bottom of the label, with the words "NO FRILLS". The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company had their generic products with white labels with green ink, and their "A&P" logo was replaced with "P&Q" (presumably standing for "Price and Quality").
Comparison to Store Brands
Today, such stark package design is rarely used. Lower priced products today usually bear the name of the store or supermarket where it is sold, or the name of the distribution (business) that supplies that store. A variation on this that is common in the United States is private labeling: brand names owned by the store that sells the product, that are not the same as the name of the store. For example, supermarket chain
Safeway, Inc. sells contract-packed dairy products under the
Lucerne brand, while the
Kroger's line of supermarkets sells products under several names, ranging from the top quality
Private Selection down to the budget-driven line
Kroger's#For Maximum Value (For Maximum Value).
Sometimes
Store brand are referred to as
house brands or
home brands. In the United Kingdom they are often referred to as
own brands.
Membership-based "
warehouse club" stores have begun their own contract-packed brands. The
Wal-Mart owned "Sam's Club" sells products under the name
Member's Mark, Costco sells products under the name
Kirkland Signature (a reference to corporate home office location,
Kirkland, Washington), and BJ's Wholesale Club sells products branded
Berkley & Jensen.
Generic Drugs
Patents may prohibit generic brand manufacturing. In the specific case of medication, new drugs are almost always patented and therefore generic versions of drugs may only be made legally in most of the world when the patents expire. As with other generic products,
generic drugs are much cheaper due to both competition and the fact that research and marketing costs do not need to be factored in.
Generic Products in Popular Culture
The generic style can be observed in the 1984 cult film,
Repo Man, in which all of the consumable products in the movie have the old-style blue and white generic packaging, especially the beer cans (labeled "Beer"). Other products in the film include "Drink" and "Food - Meat Flavored". Reportedly, this was out of necessity, since a proposed sponsor for the movie, who would have used "
product placement" sponsorship, canceled in mid-production.
In 1982, the punk rock group
Flipper (band) made light of this concept with an album entitled
Album - Generic Flipper, with generic black on yellow artwork. In 1986, Public Image Ltd. released an album entitled
Album (album), featuring generic blue on white artwork. The cassette and CD versions of this PiL release were entitled "Cassette" and "Compact Disc" respectively. A promotional poster for "Album" had similar artwork, bearing the legend "Poster".
In 1984, Marvel Comics also produced a novelty
one-shot (comics) comic entitled "The Generic Comic Book" (complete with a black and white all-text front cover) in which a young man undergoes a stereotypical superhero transformation. In this case, exposure to glow-in-the-dark novelties gives him increased, but not superhuman, strength. He then dons a costume made entirely of white, off-the-rack clothing items such as a football helmet. In keeping with the 'No Name" theme of generics, the superhero of this single-issue book is never named.
On the show
Everybody Hates Chris,
Chris Rock states that he used to only have nonfrills products in his household. One in particular was a giant chocolate-chip cookie in a bag. On the bag, the word COOKIE was written.
References
See also
