Why Retailers Are Doubling Down on Private-Label Goods — Retail Bum

Even as the world has reopened and the noise of the pandemic has faded into the background, retailers’ increased focus on beefing up their private-label offerings is continuing to pay off.

According to a survey of 2,000 U.S. consumers conducted by research company Attest, 58% of consumers are today ‘very likely’ to purchase private-label goods. And an even higher share (73%) plan to continue buying them even after inflation eases and the economy stabilizes.

This shift in behavior has come as consumers are prioritizing savings while their living expenses, including rent, fuel and packaged goods, continue to climb.

These results echo the findings of a previous report from the Food Industry Association (FMI), which found that 41% of shoppers purchased more private-label goods in the spring months of 2022 than they did before the pandemic.

And with continued demand, retailers are now making more of an effort to improve the quality and offer more premium versions of their private-label products.

According to a 2021 FMI survey, 91% of food retailers and manufacturers made plans to drastically or moderately ramp up their private-label offerings within the next two years. Additionally, 58% of companies said they would focus on…