TOP TAKEAWAYS
- 96% of grocery shoppers purchase store brands at least occasionally
- 46% purchase private brands most or all of the time
- 90% of shoppers said they are likely to continue buying private brands
Grocery shoppers are becoming more attracted to private label items for their quality and taste, and the items themselves also play a growing role in store choice, according to a new report.
The private label report, from FMI — The Food Industry Association, indicates that consumers are overwhelmingly buying private brands more often and for reasons beyond just affordable prices and overall value.
While inflationary pressures may have been the catalyst that initially prompted consumers to try more private label products, most shoppers say they plan on continuing to purchase them in the future — even as prices start to normalize, the report states.
The majority of grocery shoppers surveyed in the report said that they purchase store brands at least occasionally (96%), with less than half purchasing private brands most or all of the time (46%), and about 60% of shoppers say they are buying private brands much more or somewhat more in the past year, compared to 26% for national brands.
Additionally, 90% of grocery shoppers said they are likely to continue purchasing private brands even as inflation starts to level out and prices begin to decrease, indicating a growing loyalty for store brands.
Other key findings from the report include:
- Some 68% of shoppers cite price and 67% cite good value as the top reasons to buy more private brand items
- Some 65% of shoppers mentioned a reason other than prices and value as motivation to buy private label, including quality (30%), taste (26%), and meeting meal solutions needs (16%)
- Some 59% of shoppers said that private and name brands were both equal when it came to providing detailed product information
- Some 57% said that they felt private brands were just as healthy as their manufacturer-brand equivalent
- Some 63% said that the private brand was just as good for the planet as the national brand
More than half of shoppers also noted that the quality of the store brands was comparable to that of the manufacturer brands with products they trust just as much.
The FMI report is based on a national survey of 1,039 U.S. grocery shoppers aged 18 and up.
