NEW YORK – Store brands continued to outperform national brands in unit sales through the first 10 months of 2026, gaining market share as consumers increasingly turned to private-label products, according to new data released Wednesday by the Private Label Manufacturers Association (PLMA).
For the period ending November 1, store brand unit sales increased 0.1%, while national brand unit sales declined 0.9%, according to Circana data compiled for PLMA. The one-percentage-point difference helped push store brands’ unit market share to a record 23.7%.
Store brands outperformed national brands in unit sales in 10 of the 11 reporting periods so far this year, continuing a trend of market share gains across grocery and general merchandise categories.
In dollar sales, store brands posted a 0.3% year-to-date increase, bringing their dollar market share to 21%. National brands recorded a 1.9% increase in dollar sales despite declining unit volumes, which PLMA attributed largely to higher prices.
Across the 11 product departments tracked by Circana, five recorded store-brand unit sales growth over the 52 weeks ending November 1. Pet Care led with a 2.8% increase, followed by Beverages at 2.3%, Refrigerated at 1.9%, and General Food and Frozen, both at 0.3%.
Seven departments posted gains in store-brand dollar sales, led by Auto at 6.3%, Beverages at 5.6%, Frozen at 3%, and Pet Care at 2.6%. General Food and General Merchandise each increased by 2.2%, while Home Essentials rose 1.1%. Beauty dollar sales were flat.
PLMA also highlighted the price advantage of private-label products as consumers continue to face economic pressures. According to its analysis of Circana data, U.S. shoppers saved an estimated $20.5 billion by buying store-brand grocery products instead of national-brand equivalents in the first half of 2026.
The average price of a store-brand product during that period was $4.14, compared with $4.79 for a national-brand product, a difference of 65 cents, or about 14% per unit.
The findings come ahead of PLMA’s 2026 Private Label Trade Show, scheduled for November 15–17 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Chicago.
The event, themed “Store Brands Marketplace,” will feature a record 3,061 booths, 1,927 exhibitors, 55 national pavilions, and participants from 61 countries.
“As of today, every booth is sold,” said Dan Weil, PLMA’s senior director of the Chicago trade show. “Our theme describes exactly what happens at the PLMA Show. We bring virtually every food and non-food category together under one roof. For buyers, it’s one-stop sourcing.”
The show will also feature keynote addresses by John Conlin, Target's senior vice president of merchandising for food and beverage, and Abby Cook, Ahold Delhaize USA's senior vice president of own brands.
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