Killing manufacturer brands softly: The rise of private labels and no brand preference

Martin P. Block, Frank Mulhern and Larry Degaris
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Martin P. Block: Professor Emeritus of Integrated Marketing Communications, Northwestern University, USA
Frank Mulhern: Professor of Integrated Marketing Communications and Director of Retail Analytics Council, Northwestern University, USA
Larry Degaris: Executive Director, Medill Spiegel Research Center, Northwestern University, USA

Journal of Brand Strategy, 2025, vol. 14, issue 3, 218-228

Abstract: This paper explores shifts in consumer preferences for national brands, private labels and retailers over a 10-year period. Over that time, identification of ‘no brand’ preference across retail categories has increased at an average annual rate of 2.56 per cent, reaching 23.5 per cent in 2024 across 26 consumer product categories. The largest increase over the 10 years in terms of retailer type is the Internet, with an average increase of 9.58 per cent. Among retailers, discount store preferences have remained relatively flat. Membership warehouses have experienced a solid increase in preference. Specialty stores, and especially department stores, have had sharp declines. For consumer product brands, there is a moderate inverse relationship between the share size and growth rate for private labels, compared to a weaker relationship for no preference brands. Both are, however, increasing. Purchasing frequency has almost no relationship with private label preference and no brand preference. A similar pattern is seen with the purchase cycle and private label and a weak inverse relation with no preference share. It is also worth noting that private label and no preference preferences are moderately related. Assuming continued growth for the next 10 years, the overall private label preferences should continue to crowd out the national manufacturer brands. This article is also included in The Business & Management Collection which can be accessed at https://hstalks.com/business/.

Keywords: private labels; no brand preference; manufacturer brands; retail preferences (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: M3 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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