Household-level lifestyle segmentation can be a excellent means for food retailers to compete effectively on the store brand side with national brand marketing and advertising efforts, according to a new white paper from Fort Worth, Texas-based Buxton and 210 Analytics, San Antonio. The white paper outlines the Buxton “Private Brand Study 2011,” sponsored by the Food Marketing Institute, Arlington, Va.

In the study, which focused on how food retailers could convert more consumers to the private brand side (especially those consumers who switch back and forth between store brands and the national brands), Buxton put its household-level segmentation strategy to the test by working with Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Meijer within the store brand baking nut and snack nut areas. The company found that targeted promotions significantly increased spending among current and new users of store brand products — and work much better than “one-size-fits-all” marketing efforts.

Although scan data can support overall category trends and compare markets to actual data, “household-level data will provide a stronger understanding of consumer potential in a market,” Curt Woods, Buxton’s chief customer officer, told Progressive Grocer’s Store Brands. “Since we are dealing with individual consumers, the information is more actionable, which provides stronger return on investment.”

But household-level data work best when they supplement POS and scan data, he added.

To read the white paper, “Increasing Private-Brand Sales Among Private-Brand Loyalists, Switchers and National-Brand Loyalists,” visit http://www.pgstorebrands.com/white-papers.html.