Brands and ignorance

Here's some interesting data on who's more likely to buy generic brands of products. The short summary: the more of an expert you are about a particular areas the more likely you are to buy the generic stuff.

Pharmacists, for example, are especially likely to buy store brands of headache medicines. Chefs are far less inclined to select national brands of salt and sugar than are nonchefs who are otherwise demographically identical. In other words, national brands are succeeding largely because of consumer ignorance.

The article notes that those lacking a college education are more likely to buy brand-name products but that pharmacists aren't quite as likely to buy generic foods as chefs are. The article does note that:

The effects are smallest for first-aid and eye-care products -- which suggests that informed consumers might find genuine differences in their quality.

There are a few things that I buy brand-name that I haven't found a good non-brand-name replacement for. To take this to another level, there are also generic labels that may be more reputable than another - e.g. in Canada President's Choice is generally tastier than No Name in my experience (both are "generic brands" owned by Loblaws).

This is one interesting area wherein the Internet has opened up some interesting possibilities. People have, by and large, grown to trust eBay seller ratings, certain hotel review sites (and even AirBNB). The original article linked here notes:

It is the least informed consumers who are the most likely to waste their money. Unfortunately, many of them have little money to waste. One implication is clear: Stores ought to be doing a lot more to help people recognize their potential savings.

The question is how they can do so. And, and I mentioned with the President's Choice vs. No Name, different "generic brands" seem to have arisen and now these seem to be getting marketing campaigns of their own. If cost isn't enough, how else could you convince people to try something new?