Which Retailer’s Private Label Brands Are Growing Fastest?
Private label products are continuing their forward momentum as more and more consumers show a willingness to trade down from branded products, according to a new report from data and tech company Numerator. Private label share is still dominated by smaller-format retailers, but Aldi, Target Corp. and Amazon lead the pack with the fastest-growing private label brands.
Private label household penetration for Aldi grew by 2.3 points from the second quarter of 2021 to the second quarter of 2022, followed by Target’s Favorite Day brand at 2.2 points and Amazon Basics at 1.7 points.
When it comes to household penetration, Walmart dominated the field with four of the top five private label brands. Numerator found that Walmart’s Great Value brand was purchased by 72.7% of U.S. consumers, Equate was purchased by 51%, Marketside by 44.2% and Freshness Guaranteed by 40%, followed by Dollar Tree’s private brand at 32.5%.
“The days of treating private label products as untrackable are over,” said Eric Belcher, CEO of Chicago-based Numerator. “With market share now approaching 50% in some major categories, CPG manufacturers need visibility into the brand-level performance of private labels today more than ever before.”
Private label products in grocery, household and beauty and health account for 77.5% of Aldi’s sales, followed by Trader Joe’s at 59.4%, Wegmans at 49.4%, Costco at 33.5% and Sam’s Club at 30%. Private label share for other retailers, respectively, is:
- H-E-B: 26.9%
- Walmart: 23.3%
- Kroger: 22.1%
- Meijer: 15.8%
- Hy-Vee: 15.2%
- Target: 15.1%
- Whole Foods Market: 14.7%
- Publix: 13.6%
Kroger disputes the numbers reported by Numerator, and puts its estimated own brand penetration in its food business at 27%. Amazon, meanwhile, has a private label share of 3% in grocery, household and health and beauty products, but posts a higher share in consumer electronics and home goods.
Overall, private label brands in the grocery sector account for 17.4% of sales, and branded products account for 82.6%. These products hold similar shares among low-income (17.1%), middle-income (17.9%) and high-income (17.2%) consumers.
As for consumer sentiment toward own brand products, 59.6% of high income consumers have favorable opinions of private label products, compared to 55.2% of middle income and 52.5% of low income shoppers. Price is indeed important to nearly all customers, with the number of consumers across all income levels saying price is more important than brand name.
