The vast majority of U.S. households (99.7 percent) purchase store-brand products across the store, whether intentionally or not, according to the “Private Brands: Look Who’s Buying Now,” research from IRI which recently merged with the NPD group.
“While consumers have historically navigated to store brand products to save money during challenging economic times, we’re seeing that only modest gains have been made in private brand’s share of the consumer wallet this year,” said Mary Ellen Lynch, principal of center store solutions at IRI, in a statement. “Retailers must be hyper-focused on understanding their shoppers’ needs and emerging opportunities to spur growth amid modest private brand trends throughout the entire retail landscape.”
The research found that frequent buyers of private-label products tend to be older, have larger households, and are homeowners in less urban areas. More than half of these consumers have a median household income of less than $70,000.
When focusing on which store brand products are frequently purchased, the researchers found that food and beverage products are strengthening their dollar share, while share of non-food private lables remains stable. It also found that during the recent inflationary time, store brands increased their share of all-outlet dollar sales to 17.5 percent.
Consumers say with more frequency that store brands influence where they choose to shop: 35 percent of consumers often choose a retailer based on the selection of store brand products, up 2 percent from 2021.
The firm advocated for potential strategies to continue private label growth. One such approach was to capture younger shoppers by offering more options for convenience, healthy attributes, and flavor adventure in private brand products.
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