consumerism
Country of origin
Patriotism, whilst not exactly out-
moded, is less important for
consumers in buying goods than
other factors such as price and value
for money, according to a recent
survey carried out for the National
Consumer Council. They are also
concerned about service how
long a product is likely to last, how
much it will cost to run, and the
availability of spare parts.
The Council's view is that further
legislation about origin marking
should be given no greater priority,
so far as consumers' interests are
concerned, than other types of
information labelling which may be
more directly valuable to
consumers.
marking
The consumer's view
Ann Foster
Consultant, National Consumer Council
A RECENT report*, published by
the National Consumer Council,
reveals new evidence about
consumer attitudes and behaviour
related to shopping. The main
purpose of the report is to provide
Mrs Sally Oppenheim, Minister of
State for Consumer Affairs with
information about country of origin
marking. Early in her term of office
she asked the National Consumer
Council to ascertain if "consumers
want and need to know the country
in which goods are made and how
and in what way any country of
origin information already available
affects their buying decisions."
At present country of origin
information only has to be given if
imported merchandise bears a UK
name or mark. In other words if the
merchandise is made abroad and it
carries a trade name such as
'Hotpoint' or 'Marks & Spencer'
then the label must state where the
merchandise was made. This
requirement does not apply to
'anonymous' merchandise and it is
this aspect which is under examin-
ation. The research was designed to
find out if consumers actually care
if their clothes, washing machines or
stereo units were made in Hong
Kong, Hungary or wherever.
Furthermore, if it is important to
consumers to know this information,
*Copies of the National Consumer
Council report, Country of Origin
Marking, are available free from the
National Consumer Council, 18
Queen Anne's Gate, London SW1H
9AA. Copies of the survey material
(NOP Market Research Ltd and
Market Behaviour Ltd), on which
the report is based, are also
available from NCC, price 20.
what does it tell them about the
product they are buying in terms of
its appearance, performance and
durability?
To find out this information NCC
commissioned a research study
which not only provides the answers
to Mrs Oppenheim's original
questions but also reveals a great
deal of interesting information
about the way in which consumers
reach their buying decisions. Had
consumers simply been asked a
straight-forward question about the
need for origin marking, the answer
would undoubtedly have been an
overwhelming 'yes'. In the current
climate of opinion consumers want
more information about the
products they buy. The crucial
question, however, is "Do they
actually use this information and do
they use it in such a way as to
benefit their economic interest?"
The research was done in two
stages. The first part was a series of
in-depth group discussions under-
taken by Market Behaviour Limited
with groups of consumers, including
an old age pensioner group, in
London and Glasgow. These
discussions concentrated on
shopping decisions generally and
provided valuable information
about the types of attitudes that
consumers have. These attitudes
were then tested out on a large
sample by NOP Random Omnibus
for generality. The research centred
round two product areas
domestic electrical appliances; and
textiles, clothing and footwear.
Attitudes and behaviour related
to shopping
Women, it appears, are almost
totally responsible for the choice of
45
consumerism
merchandise in the house. The
husband may decide whether they
can actually afford to buy and what
the price bracket will be, but it is
almost always the woman who
makes the actual choice between
competing products. In spite of
womens lib, however, it appears
that anything approaching the
'intellectual approach to shopping'
is the prerogative (real or imagined!)
of the man.
"We bought an automatic washing
machine a few year ago. My wife
wanted a top loader and automatic,
so it immediately narrowed it down
to three. Then Ijust advised her on
which of the three was best..."
There are two exceptions to this
general principle. With brown
electrical goods (hi-fi's, televisions,
music centres) it is almost always the
husband who makes the decision
with little or no consultation with
his wife. Also the individual often
buys his or her own clothes,
although in many cases the wife
chose her husband's clothes.
There are a large number of
cautious shoppers in our midst.
Where there are large amounts of
money involved, or where the
46 RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION MANAGEMENT, MARCH/APRIL 1980
product is expected to be around a
long time, a considerable amount of
research can go into the purchase.
Shopping around, consulting a
library copy of Which? and
studying all the available literature
are quite common activities prior to
purchase. In this quest for inform-
ation, the shops themselves
obviously come in for a lot of
comment. It is apparent from some
of the discussions, that respondents
frequently suspect the information
that is given to them in the belief
that it is given with a view to
encourage purchase rather than an
honest attempt to inform. Lack of
product knowledge on the part of
the assistants is also commented on.
"They know nothing at all
nowadays"; and "They're just
there to serve. That's all they
know."
Where credence is given to what is
said, it is because the organisation
itself has a good reputation. Marks
& Spencer and John Lewis Partner-
ship (in the south) were both
consistently mentioned in this
context.
"I go for a good name, a name
that implies the company will
make sure problems are put right,
because they value their name."
Information requirements related
to certain product categories
(i) electrical products
The most important factors
influencing choice when buying
electrical goods are price and brand
name. Brand loyalty is very strong
in this field, with consumers seeking
out specific, recognisable brand
names in the belief that they will be
buying a safe product. Safety is a
major priority, although the
research shows confusion and
misunderstanding about the kite
mark. Some consumers think that it
is a mark of good design and few
consumers realise that British
standards apply to imported
merchandise. Most consumers seem
to accept that whatever appliance
they are buying will inevitably break
down, so considerable emphasis is
placed upon repairability, service
centre arrangements and spare
parts. Consumers are also
concerned about standards of
workmanship which they firmly
believe are dropping. Some blame
the manufacturers for a variety of
reasons; others thought that
retailers are too quick to accept sub-
standard merchandise and then
refuse to take responsibility for it
when things go wrong.
 consumerism
An indication of priorities when I think with hi-fi and so on I consumers who say that they will
making the purchasing decision are would tend to go for Japanese buy something 'cheap and cheerful'
given below. Respondents were because they seem to have got a for regular, every day wear but
asked which of the following factors very good name for reliability and garments which only receive an
had influenced their choice in their quality. A lot of the British stuff airing on high days and holidays
most recent electrical purshase doesn't look quite as nice either." often have to be expensive, well-
% of respondents made and generally of superior
influenced (ii) textiles, clothing and footwear appearance!
Clearly price, appearance, fibre Country of origin is again fairly
The price 69% content and cleaning instructions low down the list of priorities when
the brand name 54% are the most important buying personal and family
information about spares considerations when buying clothes. clothing. Distinctions seem to be
and repairs 37% Fibre content not only indicates made depending on who is going to
terms of the guarantee 35% whether or not the garment can be wear the garment. Country of origin
previous experience 35% washed but it is also used as an is quite unimportant for children's
country of origin 24% indicator about the expected life of clothes, although several mothers
recommendation of friends 21% a garment, especially with men's recognise that T-shirts and cheap
independent reports suits. The 'intended use' of the clothing from Hong Kong will
(eg Which?) 14% garment seems to provide an probably be of inferior quality and
anything else 11% important set of criteria for will not wear/wash as well as the
none of these 4% selecting clothes. Some odd logic is
Having chosen the particular piece revealed by the large number of
of merchandise, respondents were
then asked to rank various pieces of
information available at the time of
purchase in order of importance.
The order is as follows
1Safety standards; 2price;
3instructions for use; 4address
of service depot; 5brand name;
6wiring instructions; 7details of
guarantee; 8space parts
information; 9country of origin.
It is clear from the research that
country of origin is unimportant
when buying electrical products. If
all the other information is avail-
able, then it is virtually irrelevant.
Many consumers realise that by
buying a British brand name, they
will not necessarily be buying an
article that has been made or even
assembled in Britain and this does
not appear to worry them as they
are placing their faith in the brand
or the store where they had bought
it rather than in the country where it
had been made. Experience amongst
respondents has shown that in many
cases it is possible to repair more
quickly and efficiently something
which has been made in Japan than
a product which has been made in
the UK. It is only in the specific area
of hi-fi/music centres, electronic
goods and, to a lesser extent,
television that consumers actively
seek out a product by its country of
origin. In this field Japan are clearly
highly thought of for producing a
superior article in all respects.
"Whether something is British or
foreign doesn't really worry me.

47
consumerism
UK equivalent. Women also seem
relatively ambivalent about their
own clothing. They recognise the
superiority of French clothes and
Italian footwear but these consider-
ations are quite remote from
everyday buying decisions. Men do
still think that British tailoring is
superior and the regular suit wearers
will actually make a point of buying
British, but this attitude is gradually
being eroded as the more trusted
retailers are selling foreign made
suits. Generally, manufacturer's
brand name is quite unimportant
when buying clothes, but the
reputation of the retailer is all
important. Time and again Marks &
Specer emerge as the leader in terms
of quality, service and customer
relations. One very important aspect
of Marks & Spencer's service is their
policy on exchange and refunds
without argument. This obviously
does much to encourage purchase
from Marks & Spencer because the
element of risk is removed.
"You can change things for cash
there, and you know there's not
going to be a scene or anything."
This is an important issue with
consumers. Many respondents have
ceased to shop at a particular estab-
lishment if they have had a bad
experience when returning faulty
merchandise.
Clearly where the retailer's name
is respected for whatever reason,
country of origin is irrelevant. One
felt that if Marks & Spencer sold
clothes that had been made on the
moon, consumers would not
question what they were doing!
Respondents were asked which of
nine factors had influenced their
buying decision and, secondly, what
was the most important piece of
information available.
% of respondents
influenced
size/fitting 88%
material/fibre content 75%
price 70%
washing/cleaning
instructions 48%
previous experience 48%
brand name 35%
country of origin 21%
recommendation of friends 8%
independent reports 4%
The rank order of importance of
items of information available at
48 RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION MANAGEMENT. MARCH/APRIL 1980
time of purchase 1Size/Fit;
2washing/cleaning instructions;
3price; 4fibre/material;
5brand name; 6 country of
origin.
Footwear generally provokes a
different kind of response. Women
generally only care that their shoes
look right for the part. They draw a
distinction between 'sensible' shoes
which ought to last and 'fashion'
shoes which are not expected and
often not wanted to last longer than
the season, though consumers do
want an accurate indication of the
expected durability when they buy
shoes. Men tend to be more
concerned that their shoes will last
and will be capable of repair. Most
respondents have no idea of where
their shoes have been made and the
majority do not care. Yet again, if
all the other considerations are
right, country of origin is really
immaterial. In contrast, an
enormous amount of care and
attention goes in to the purchase of
children's shoes, and Clarks enjoy
the same reputation in their field as
Marks & Spencers do with clothing.
Most of the women appear to
conform to the 'good mother' image
of really caring about what the
children wear on their feet. They
expect shops to have adequate
facilities for measuring and fitting
childrens shoes.
Conclusions
Country of origin seems to provoke
as much positive discrimination as it
does negative. Whereas consumers
will select Japanese music centres,
British suits and Sheffield cutlery,
they will likewise avoid toys or
clothes from Hong Kong in the
belief that they are dangerous or
inferior. In many cases independent
reports, when available, do not
always bear out what people believe.
Furthermore it is a situation which
is rapidly changing as even quite
recently consumers would have been
much more suspicious of buying
Japanese.
Patriotism, whilst not exactly a
thing of the past, is less important
when factors such as price are taken
into consideration. Consumers feel
that if there is a choice between two
identical products one foreign
and one British they will select
the latter, but that is as far as
patriotism goes. The over-riding
concern is to buy what represents
best value for money. "Buying
British", if not a thing of the past, is
being regarded now as a luxury that
not all can afford to indulge in.
Sadly there is also a tendency to
think that British products now
compare less favourably with the
foreign competitors.
"I'm not anti-British, but I just
feel sometimes that things that are
made in Britain are not up to
scratch. "
People who do want to know the
country of origin do so for purely
practical reasons, and the use of this
information so that consumers may
discriminate on political grounds is
restricted to only 4% of the sample.
In answer to Mrs Oppenheim's
original enquiry, the reply must be
that, when asked the straight-
forward question, a majority of
consumers say that they would like
to know the country of origin of the
goods that they buy. However,
comparatively few make use of this
information and it is less important
than other pieces of information
which may be available at point of
sale. When used by consumers, it
becomes an indicator of quality
which may or may not be accurate.
It is difficult to see that an extension
of the present legislation to cover
origin marking would be in the
consumer's best interests. Nor does
the current situation appear to
prejudice their economic interests.
What does emerge from the report
however, is a desire to have more
information generally about
products. 95% of consumers would
like more information about safety
standards of products, 82% would
like to know how much energy
electrical and gas products will
consume so that this can be a factor
in their choice, and 78% of
consumers would like some form of
durability labelling on the products
they buy. Whilst the Department of
Trade contemplate the implications
of this report for origin marking, it
will be interesting to see how many
retailers read the report and act on
the information about these and
other aspects of consumer
behaviour. Who will be the first
brave retailer to pass on details of
the expected life of the products
they sell?