Numerator: Private label penetration highest in these categories...
Private label purchases are now ubiquitous among U.S. households as the price gap between private label and national brands contines to grow.
Virtually all households (99.9%) are now purchasing private label products, according to new data from Numerator. In 2024, household penetration was highest for the grocery (99.9%), followed by health & beauty (99.2%), household (98.9%), home & garden (98.0%) and tools & home improvement (86.3%). Over three-quarters of U.S. households also purchased private label products in the apparel (84.8%), party & occasions (82.9%), and office supplies (79.7%) categories.
The price gap between private label and national brands has grown by 38% since 2019, noted Numerator. On average, consumers are paying over $2 more for a nationally branded product than for a private label product.
According to Numerator, private label sales have been outpacing national brands for the past five years. In 2020, private label sales grew 29% (vs. 15.4% for national brands). In 2022, private label sales grew by 6.9% (vs. 3.6%), and in 2024, private label sales grew by 2.3% (vs. 4.5%). Last year, private label trips grew by 2.3%, spend per unit grew by 1.9%, and households purchasing private label products grew by 0.7%. On average, consumers are paying over $2 more for a nationally branded product than for a private label product.
Consumers are big fans of private label products for the value they provide. Consumers told Numerator that “budget-friendly” (65% of respondents), “reliable” (33%), “generic or basic” (31%), “trustworthy” (24%) and “family-friendly” (23%) were the words or phrases that came to mind when thinking about private label brands.
Despite incredibly high penetration, consumers admit they have quality and variety concerns when it comes to private brands. Barriers to purchasing more private label products are limited variety or availability in private label options (30% of respondents), habit/purchasing the same name brands as usual (25%), concerns about quality or consistency (24%) and preference for specific national brands (21%). Consumers said that promotions and assortment expansion were the top two improvements private label brands could make.
[READ MORE: Report: Private label interest continues to grow]
Consumers also trust CPG more than general merchandise private label products. The top trusted categories among private label products are health & beauty (68% of respondents), grocery (67%) and household (66%), while the least trusted are toys (53%), apparel (55%) and office supplies (56%).
Additional insights from the Numerator survey include:
- One-in-five (27%) private label shoppers have purchased a store brand product and not realized it made by the retailer.
- Brand ownership recognition is higher in CPG than in general merchandise. Household (78% of respondents), grocery (77%) and health & beauty (73%) had the most awareness, while toys (43%), tools & home improvement (43%) and electronics (46%) had the least.
- The brands with the most awareness are Member’s Mark (Sam’s Club) (95% of respondents recognized it as a private label brand), Kirkland Signature (Costco) (92%), Up & Up (Target) (88%), and Cat & Jack (Target) (87%), while the brands with the least awareness are Spring Valley (Walmart) (25%), Vigoro (Home Depot) (24%), Better Homes & Gardens (Walmart) (18%) and Expert Gardener (Walmart) (16%).
Numerator’s Private Label Perceptions survey was fielded in March 2025 to over 21,000 purchase-verified private label buyers across more than 130 private label brands in both the CPG and general merchandise sectors. Purchase data was compiled using Numerator’s 150k household Total Commerce Panel.
