Walmart Dominates with the Top 5 Private Label Brands.

According to Numerator, a data and tech company specializing in market research, its latest Private Label Trends Tracker reveals significant insights into the performance of private label products across various sectors, channels, and retailers, alongside consumer sentiment from verified store-brand buyers.

In the past year, nearly all U.S. households have purchased private label products across categories such as grocery, health and beauty, household, and home and garden. Private label items now account for 24% of total units sold across ten major product sectors.

Courtesy of Walmart

Key findings from the report include:

• A substantial 43% of surveyed consumers opt for private label items primarily to save money. However, opinions on quality vary, with 58% believing private label brands offer above-average value for their price, yet only 29% consider them as good as name brands.
• Private label products comprise nearly a quarter (24%) of unit volume across ten sectors. The highest shares were found in Office (38.7%), Home & Garden (32.5%), Tools & Home Improvement (29%), and Household (26.7%). Other sectors included Grocery (23.8%), Baby (22.7%), Pet (17.6%), Health & Beauty (17.4%), Toys (16.1%), and Electronics (11.1%).
• Virtually every U.S. household (99.2%) purchased a private label item in the past year, with grocery items leading the way. The most notable declines were in Home & Garden (-2.8%) and Electronics (-1.8%).
• The Club channel (e.g., Costco, Sam’s Club) recorded the largest share of private label sales, accounting for 33.1% of total units sold. This was followed by Office (30.3%) and Mass retailers (28.0%), which includes Walmart and Target.
• Aldi and Trader Joe’s showed the highest reliance on private label products, with 80% and 69% of their overall sales volume attributed to owned brands, respectively. Other retailers, including Walmart (30%), Dollar Tree (29%), and Kroger (27%), also derived more than a quarter of their sales from private label offerings. Notably, only 3% of Amazon’s sales volume is linked to private label products.
• In terms of growth, Kroger’s Smart Way brand emerged as the fastest-growing private label brand, with a remarkable 135% increase in sales volume since its launch in late 2022. Other notable contenders included Dollar Tree’s B Pure (92%) and Walgreens’ Complete Home (59%).

Walmart continues to lead the private label market, with five of its brands achieving over 50% household penetration in the past year. These include Great Value (purchased by 86% of households), Equate (75%), Mainstays (70%), Marketside (69%), and Freshness Guaranteed (67%). Additionally, 47% of U.S. households bought Pen Gear from Walmart. Following Walmart, Dollar Tree, Aldi, Target, and Costco were also noted in the top 10 private label brands by household penetration.