PLMA: Store brand dollar share moving up across all outlets, including drug

NEW YORK — As national brands continue to struggle with lower growth year-to-year in supermarkets, drug stores and mass merchandisers, store brand sales in all the major retail channels continue their upwards trend, setting new records across the board for annual revenue, according to the Private Label Manufacturers Association’s 2015 Private Label Yearbook.



When 2014 came to a close, store brands had accounted for nearly $3 billion in incremental sales overall, an increase of 2.5% compared with the previous year and more than twice the percentage gain that was recorded by national brands. Total sales of private label in the United States were $115.3 billion.



As a result, store brand dollar share moved up across all outlets combined — consisting of supermarkets, drug stores, mass merchandisers, and the club and dollar store channels.



Over a three-year period, store brand sales across the combined retail outlets have increased by $5.5 billion, moving store brand dollar market share from 17.3% to 17.7%. The run-ups are much the same in the individual channels. Over that period, the annual sales volumes for store brands have risen by $2.5 billion in supermarkets and risen by $200 million in drug stores.



The PLMA 2015 Private Label Yearbook utilizes data provided by The Nielsen Co. for the 52 weeks ending Dec. 27, 2014.



Ongoing market basket research consistently reveals that shoppers can save about one-third on basic grocery and household items in a typical supermarket by choosing store brands over national brands. Last year, consumers who reached for the store brand version of their favorite food and non-food grocery products rather than the national brand saved an estimated $27 billion, according to PLMA.