92% of Grocery Shoppers Keep Store Brands at Home, an FMI Survey Finds

Nine in 10 American households now have a store-brand product somewhere in the pantry or fridge. FMI, The Food Industry Association, put the figure at 92% of U.S. grocery shoppers in a report released June 16, 2026, up from 89% the year before. The finding is the headline number of its annual Power of Private Brands study.

Store brands, also called private brands or private label, are the products a grocery chain sells under its own name. The FMI numbers, and two more reports from the fall, show how far they have moved from the bottom shelf into everyday shopping.

How the 92% Was Measured

FMI says the findings come from a nationally representative online survey of 1,495 U.S. grocery shoppers ages 18 and older, conducted March 13-18, 2026. The maximum sampling error is plus or minus 2.5 percentage points at the 95% confidence level, and the report also draws on private brand sales data from Circana.

That sales data adds a second figure. According to FMI, private brand dollar sales rose 2.8% year over year, faster than national brand growth. It also reported that 94% of shoppers say they would keep buying store brands even if grocery prices decline.

Nearly Half Bought More Store Brands

Nearly half of shoppers increased their store brand purchases over the past year, FMI says, compared with 31% who increased national brand purchases. The shift is sharper among younger shoppers: 59% of Gen Z and 52% of Millennials raised store brand buying, against 49% of shoppers overall.

Frenz Hub also has a post titled Who Said Inflation Had to Ruin Everything? 12 Things That Are Actually Getting Cheaper!. FMI’s own survey data, though, points to more than price.

Taste and Quality Are Rising as Reasons

Among shoppers buying more store brands, taste was cited by 37%, up from 26% in 2023, and quality by 39%, up from 30% over the same period. FMI’s Tom Cosgrove, director of industry relations, said shoppers are not choosing store brands out of habit or necessity but because the products have earned the trust of American families.

The store itself matters too. FMI reports that 56% of shoppers say their primary store’s private brand selection is very or extremely important to the decision to shop there.

What TikTok Has to Do With It

FMI’s report also looked at social media. Of shoppers influenced by TikTok, 82% went on to buy a store brand product as a result, according to the association. The figure applies only to shoppers who said TikTok influenced them, not to shoppers overall.

The Wikipedia entry on private label describes the broad idea of retailer-owned brands that FMI is measuring. The craftingyourhome.com site also has a post titled A Mom of Two Who Posts as ‘Victoria’s Meal Prep’ Says Kroger Clearance Can Run as Much as 65% Off, and the Best App Deals Sit Past the First Page.

Thanksgiving Shoppers Plan More Store Brands

A separate NielsenIQ (NIQ) survey, reported by The Shelby Report on Oct. 21, 2026, asked 2,017 people about Thanksgiving. Forty-six percent of respondents plan to buy more store brands than last year, 46% expect no change and 8% plan to buy fewer. Another 21% said they will use lower-cost brands or cuts because of food and beverage prices.

NIQ also tracked prices for the 52 weeks ending Sept. 5: cranberry sauce rose 15% and turkey breast rose 12% against a year earlier, while pie crust fell 2%. NIQ’s Chris Costagli said side dishes, baking ingredients, canned vegetables, cranberry sauce, dairy and pantry staples are natural opportunities for private label because they are bought in larger quantities and play a supporting role in the meal.

He added that consumers did not suddenly discover store brands this Thanksgiving, and that if a store brand delivers the quality, taste and value wanted, many will keep buying it after the holidays. Frenz Hub’s 14 Outrageously Expensive Products Americans are Overpaying For Unknowingly is another post from the partner site.

Aldi’s Own Store-Brand Comparison

The Shelby Report also covered Aldi’s 2026 Price Leadership Report, released Aug. 28. Aldi said a 70-item basket of top-selling items across five metro regions (Miami, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Houston) showed up to 22% lower prices for its private label than for competitors’ private label products.

The report was built on a commissioned consumer survey of 1,217 Aldi shoppers, a pricing analysis and an economic analysis by Ernst & Young’s quantitative economics group. It is a retailer’s own report, so the figures describe what Aldi commissioned rather than an independent price audit. The chain says it now has more than 2,600 U.S. stores.

Midyear Sales Data From PLMA

The Private Label Manufacturers Association (PLMA) released midyear figures on July 8, 2026, citing Circana data for the six months ending June 14. Store brand unit sales rose 0.2% while national brand unit sales fell 0.5%, and store brand unit market share reached 23.8%, an all-time high.

Dollar sales told a different story. PLMA said store brand dollar sales were flat year to date while national brands gained 2.2%, leaving store brand dollar share at 21.2%, just under its record. The association’s president, Peggy Davies, said the gap reflects in part changing national brand pricing. The craftingyourhome.com site also has a post titled 7 Things Smart Shoppers Never Buy at a Dollar Store.

A Few Caveats About the Numbers

A shopper who has one store-brand product at home is counted in the 92%, so the figure does not mean most of a household’s groceries carry a store label. It also comes from a trade association for the food industry and from self-reported answers to an online survey.

Even so, the direction is consistent across the sources. FMI’s survey, NIQ’s holiday poll and the sales data all point to store brands holding a larger place in carts, and shoppers who ranked taste and quality as reasons suggest the habit is not only about price. Frenz Hub’s 10 Clever Frugal Living Tips: Save Big on a Tiny Budget is another post on the partner site.

This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.