Are poor quality perceptions of low cost brands changing?

Quality is Cheap!

The latest news that Aldi has overtaken Waitrose to become the sixth biggest grocer in the UK resonates with something I was thinking yesterday in Strasbourg airport.

I am more and more aware of the quality of things I get for free or next to nothing. My favourite mag this week has been Easyjet’s Traveller with its focus on the latest innovations and brand transformations, and it’s free. I can fly to Dublin for £9.99 providing I book up well in advance. I can stay in the brand new BLOC hotels that are springing up. Bold, modern, cool and cheap and rooms start at £45. Last week I bought a great book for £3.  I kept me entertained all week. I couldn’t go to them looking for a specific book, because they would probably not have it in – they had a tiny range but for £3. When I leapt off the train I get London’s best weekly:  Stylist – and its free. I can search the worlds videos on YouTube and it’s free, providing I watch a ad for 4 seconds.

Do you still “get what you pay for”?  Or if I am prepared to accept the odd advert, can’t quality come cheap? What does this tell us about brands and what they deliver for the future?  It tells me that our expectations of quality over price will continue to soar, and providing there is a good reason for a brands low price, then customers will continue to change the long-held assumption that low cost means poor quality.