Data: Safeway brand still resonates with two-thirds of shoppers

According to an ICM poll conducted exclusively for Retail Week, 66% of UK consumers said they were aware of the Safeway name.

The brand will be resurrected in McColl’s stores next year after Morrisons, which bought Safeway back in March 2004, agreed a deal to supply the convenience chain’s 1,650 stores with own-label and proprietary branded products.

According to the survey of more than 2,100 people, only 57% shoppers said they were aware of the McColl’s name, suggesting that stocking Safeway-branded products could help it attract more customers.

However, the knowledge of the Safeway name was much more prominent among older shoppers, meaning it may not woo younger consumers.

According to the research, 83% of over-55s were aware of Safeway, compared to 41% of those aged between 18 and 34.

Brand perception

Although the Safeway name remains recognisable among shoppers, the perception of the brand itself remains uncertain.

Just 30% of people said Safeway represented good value for money, while 62% were unsure.

Similarly, 32% said they related Safeway with good quality products, but 63% were undecided about the brand’s quality credentials.

Just more than a third of shoppers thought Safeway offered a good range of products, while 61% were uncertain.

While the older generation said they remembered the Safeway name more than younger consumers, only 27% of over 55s said it offered good value for money, while 29% of respondents in that age group said it stood for good quality.

Safeway stores

Although the partnership struck between Morrisons and McColl’s is purely a supply arrangement, neither retailer shut the door completely on the notion of it leading to standalone Safeway stores in the future.

While this development remains unlikely, 41% of shoppers said they would be either very likely or fairly likely to shop in a Safeway store if one were to open near then.

Less than 20% of respondents said they would be unlikely to shop at a Safeway store.

Older consumers, who were more aware of the Safeway brand, are less likely to shop at a Safeway store than those aged 18 to 34.

A quarter of over-55s said they would be unlikely to shop in a Safeway store, while 34% said they were likely to.

By contrast, 48% of 18 to 34-year-olds and 41% of 35 to 54-year-olds said they would be likely to shop in Safeway, if a store opened that was convenient for them.

Safeway products

Encouragingly for both Morrisons and McColl’s, a third of consumers were likely to buy Safeway products that were being stocked by other retailers, while only 17% said they were unlikely to do so.

Again, younger shoppers with less resonance towards the Safeway brand were more likely to purchase goods bearing its name.

Some 40% of 18 to 34-year-olds said they were likely to purchase Safeway products, compared to just 24% of over-55s.

Among that older age category, 24% said they were unlikely to buy Safeway-branded goods, while just 17% of shoppers in the 18 to 34-year-old age bracket said they would steer clear.