Shoppers are buying less and looking for bargains, so retailers like Wal-Mart are discontinuing stocking some weaker selling brand-name products and replacing them with cheaper store brands, said CNNMoney.com.

As Wal-Mart goes, other stores are sure to follow, and drugstore chains like CVS and Walgreens and the discount chain Target are also trying to simplify their shelves, said CNN. In a recession when shoppers are cutting back, variety can actually hurt sales.

“I think the feeling is that as these companies keep extending their [product] lines, it’s only causing confusion for shoppers and not really driving them to buy more products,” Lora Cecera, a retail expert at the consulting firm Altimeter Group, told CNN. “Do I really need to decide between 15 different types of toothpaste when I go to a store?”

With fewer options, shoppers are more likely to turn to cheaper house brands, boosting sales and loyalty for the retailers’ own product line. A recent survey by Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. found that 77 percent of consumers who downgraded to store brands were satisfied with the product, said CNN. Some analysts say that by cutting brands, Wal-Mart and other retailers are in a position to get better deals from suppliers on pricing and advertising.