It’s not surprising that in a year dominated by rising grocery prices and sinking buying power, Americans are choosing private-label groceries to save money. What is unexpected is how pervasive — and perhaps permanent — those choices might be.
FMI, the Food Industry Association’s new annual private-label report, finds that 92% of U.S. shoppers have private-label products in their home, up from 89% last year.
Private-brand dollar sales increased 2.8% for the year, compared to a gain of 2.6% for national brands, according to data from Circana. On a unit-sale basis, private-brand unit sales increased 0.6% versus a year ago, compared with 0.2% for national brands.
But it’s not just about saving money. Nearly all shoppers — 94% — say they are likely to keep buying store brands even if grocery prices begin to decline. Almost half increased their store brand purchases over the past year, while only 31% say they’ve purchased more national brands. Some 17% say they’ve cut back on name brands, with only 4% making the same claim about private-label spending.
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