Numerator, a data and tech company serving the market research space, has published its updated Private Label Trends Tracker, which provides an ongoing look at private label performance across product sectors, channels, and retailers, as well as consumer sentiment from verified buyers of store-brand products.
Nearly all U.S. households purchased private label products in grocery, health and beauty, household, and home and garden categories over the last 12 months, and private label products accounted for 24% of total units sold across ten major product sectors.
Key findings include:
- Nearly half (43%) of surveyed consumers purchase private label items to save money, but not all are convinced that they offer the same quality. Some 58% say private label brands offer an above-average value for their price, but less than 1 in 3 (29%) think they are as good as name brands
- Across 10 major product sectors, private label products accounted for nearly a quarter of unit volume (24%). The sectors with the highest private label share were Office (38.7%), Home & Garden (32.5%), Tools & Home Improvement (29%), and Household (26.7%). The other sectors analyzed were Grocery (23.8%), Baby (22.7%), Pet (17.6%), Health & Beauty (17.4%), Toys (16.1%), and Electronics (11.1%)
- Just about every U.S. household purchased a private label item in the past year. All U.S. households purchased a private label grocery item in the past 12 months, followed by Health & Beauty (99.2% of households), Household Products (98.9%), and Home & Garden (97.6%). The sectors that saw the most change were Home & Garden (-2.8% HHP vs. YA) and Electronics (-1.8% HHP).
Product sectors by percentage of household penetration
- Club stores saw the largest private label share based on total units sold.Private label items accounted for 33.1% of the Club channel (e.g., Costco, Sam’s Club), followed by Office (30.3%), Mass (e.g. Target, Walmart, 28.0%), Home Improvement (26.8%), and Pet (25.5%)
- Eight in 10 units sold at Aldi were private label products. Among 20 of the largest U.S. retailers, Aldi and Trader Joe’s rely most heavily on private label products, with their owned-brands accounting for 80% and 69%, respectively, of their overall sales volume. Costco (34%), Sam’s Club (33%), HEB (33%), Walmart (30%), Dollar Tree (29%), Lowe’s (28%), and Kroger (27%) also see more than a quarter of their overall sales volume come from private label products. Only 3% of Amazon’s sales volume is attributable to private label
- Smart Way led in private label growth, but store brands from Dollar Tree and Walgreens are close behind. Launched in late 2022, Kroger’s “Smart Way” brand was the fastest-growing private label brand in the past year, increasing sales volume by +135%, followed by B Pure (Dollar Tree, +92%) Complete Home (Walgreens, +59%), Market Basket (Dollar Tree, +54%), and Skyra Icelandic (7-Eleven, +52%)
- Walmart’s private label brands dominate the competition. Five Walmart brands had over 50% U.S. household penetration in the past year, including Great Value (86% purchased), Equate (75%), Mainstays (70%), Marketside (69%), and Freshness Guaranteed (67%). 47% of U.S. households purchased Pen + Gear from Walmart. Dollar Tree, Aldi, Target, and Costco rounded off the top 10 private label brands by household penetration.
Top 15 private label brands by percentage of household penetration
Numerator’s Private Label Tracker provides private label share information from Numerator TruView and Numerator Insights based on the last 12 months ending June 30, 2024 vs. year over year in ten sectors (office, home & garden, tools and home improvement, household, grocery, baby, pet, health and beauty, toys, and electronics).
