Private brands make record gains in first half of year

According to Circana data provided exclusively to the Private Label Manufacturers Association (PLMA), private label sales reached all-time highs in both unit and dollar sales. As of June 16, unit market share was 22.9% and dollar market share was 20.4%. Total store brand sales for the six months were $121 billion, while national brand sales were $472 billion.

PLMA says the improved market shares came on the strength of private label’s superior performance at checkout versus national brands. Private label dollar sales were up 2.3%, compared to a gain of 1.1% for national brands. In unit sales, the difference was even greater, with private brands up 2.5% and national brands down 0.8%.

Results in the 10 individual product departments that Circana tracks for PLMA show that private label sales were up across the store in the first six months of the year. The beauty department improved the most, up 10%, followed by liquor (+8.8%), general food (+6.9%), home care (+6.8%), pet care (+5.8%), beverages (+4.3%), frozen (+2.9%), general merchandise (+2.2%) and home (+1.7%). Only refrigerated slipped, but it was a nominal minus 0.7%.

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