HOW BRANDING DRIVES SHOPPER DECISIONS IN UK SUPERMARKETS
- juicewix
- Dec 3
- 3 min read
Updated: Dec 4
UK supermarket shelves have never been more competitive. Shoppers face more choice, rising prices, and an expanding array of own-label products. In this complex landscape, branding is far from obsolete. When executed strategically, it remains one of the most effective ways to drive recognition, trust, emotional connection, and ultimately, conversion.
We explore why strong branding still matters and how brands can maximise impact across the shopper journey.
The Job Branding is Doing in the Crowded World of UK Supermarkets?
Branding has always helped shoppers make choices quickly. But today, it’s not enough to simply be visible. Brands must work harder, smarter, and across multiple touchpoints. Evidence shows that strong branding drives recognition, builds trust, and deepens emotional connection, and brands that combine these elements with insight into shopper wants and needs, start to outperform their competitors.
More than a logo or packaging, branding helps shoppers interpret products and make purchase decisions. In the modern UK supermarket, strong branding helps products cut through crowded shelves, signal trust and quality, create emotional resonance, and communicate market position instantly.
Here are five ways in which brands can maximise impact across shopper touchpoints.
Recognition & Distinctiveness
Distinctive assets such as colour, shape, typography, and packaging design act as mental shortcuts, helping shoppers identify products quickly.
Brands with strong distinctive brand assets grow 28% faster on average.[1] Consistency across physical and digital channels ensures that your product is immediately recognisable, speeding up decision-making and increasing the likelihood of selection.
Trust & Reassurance
Brands communicate reliability, reducing perceived risk, particularly in categories related to family, health, or indulgence.
A 2024 Nielsen study found 58% of UK shoppers trust branded products more than own-label equivalents, especially in categories linked to quality and safety.[2] Trust drives loyalty and, in some cases, allows brands to maintain a price premium. A brand that signals reliability consistently is more likely to be chosen repeatedly.
Emotional Connection
Brands that align with shoppers’ values, lifestyle, or emotions generate loyalty that promotions alone cannot replicate.
Insights have shown that emotionally-led brands deliver double the long-term profit growth compared with brands relying solely on rational messaging.[3] Pairing functional benefits with emotional resonance ensures a brand stays relevant and top-of-mind, even in competitive or price-sensitive categories.
Supermarkets use brand loyalty to drive shoppers into their stores. Through promoting best price on brands shoppers love, they utilise brand power to shift shopper behaviour, providing value to shoppers, retailers and brands alike.
Market Position & Value Perception
Branding signals whether a product is premium, mid-range, or everyday value. Packaging, messaging, and visual cues are the branding tolls used communicate quality and price expectations.
76% of shoppers use packaging as a primary indicator of value and quality when comparing products.[4] Clear market positioning helps shoppers self-select efficiently, reducing decision friction and improving conversion.
Cross-channel Brand Presence
Branding extends beyond the shelf. Pre-shop research, mobile browsing, apps, and social media increasingly shape purchase decisions.
Reports say that 70% of grocery decisions are influenced by digital touchpoints, even when the final purchase is in-store.[5] Ensure brand identity is consistent and recognisable across store, app, search results, and social media to maximise consideration and conversion.
Conclusion
If brands disappeared from supermarkets tomorrow, it would leave the same decision for shoppers. A choice between Supermarkets (brands). It further highlights that strong branding remains a decisive factor in UK supermarket success. Brands that perform best:
Stand out instantly with distinctive, recognisable assets
Build trust through consistent quality and reassurance
Engage emotionally to deepen loyalty and connection
Communicate market position clearly so shoppers can self-select
Show up across all touchpoints to influence decisions wherever they occur
Branding is no longer just a visual or heritage exercise, it’s a strategic tool that drives behavioural impact, strengthens loyalty, and supports growth when combined with shopper insight and category understanding.
It’s not one thing that helps brands win in store, it’s the accumulation of doing the right things across every touchpoint. Branding is the thread that ties it all together, providing value to shoppers and retailers beyond price.
So what do you think? Is it a race to the bottom or a race to connection?
Sources
1. Kantar (2024)
2. NeilsenIQ (2024)
3. IPA (2023)
4. IGD (2024)
5. McKinsey & Company (2024)
