UK Consumers Could Look to Domestic Brands to Fulfil Post-Brexit Shopping Needs

Friday, September 6, 2019 - 09:21 by Graham Miller

Although the decisions surrounding Britain’s anticipated exit from the EU remain to be set in stone and political chaos rules the roost at the moment, a survey from Pure 360 has hinted at the kind of consumer trends which could emerge in the wake of Brexit.

Internet Retailing reports that close to a third of those questioned in the study said that they would want to see clearer information made available about the country of origin of products available to buy via safe shopping online. This is chiefly because there may be additional taxes and charges associated with items sourced from overseas, making domestically produced products more appealing to the budget-conscious consumer.

Another reason to buy British after Brexit is that items which originate in the UK will not be hit with any of the anticipated delays or shortages of their overseas counterparts - or at least this is the theory held by some people.

25 per cent of people said that they also wanted assurances about how brands would be using personal information after Brexit occurs, which is likely due to the fact that the General Data Protection Regulation rolled out by the EU last year is seen as something which may no longer apply in the UK, even if this is not the case.

A similar number of shoppers also said that they would turn their attention to British brands in a post-Brexit marketplace in order to support companies that might be struggling to stay afloat without investment from domestic customers.

Far more important than any of these factors will be convenience, as almost three-quarters of respondents said that their choice of retailer or brand post-Brexit would mainly be influenced by how quickly and easily they could get access to the goods they need.