At the Q3 mark of 2026, store brands are still winning the sales competition with national brands. They outperformed national brands in unit sales gains over the first nine months of 2026 by more than one full percentage point, increasing by 0.3%, while national brand unit sales declined by 0.8%.
During a challenging year in which American consumers increasingly scrutinized their food and nonfood grocery purchases, store brand unit sales outgained national brands in eight of the 10 reporting periods, according to Circana's Unify+/PLMA.
As a result, store brand unit share moved up to 23.5%. At the Q3 mark, store brands were also in the black in dollar sales, ahead by 0.3% compared to the same time last year. Store brand dollar share came in at 21%.
Among the product departments monitored for PLMA by Circana, Beverages was the leader in store brand dollar sales gains over the 52 weeks ending October 4, improving by 5.4%, followed by Auto, +4.1%; Frozen, +2.8%; Pet Care, +2.7%; General Merchandise, +2.6%; General Food, +2.2%; Household Essentials, +1%; and Beauty, +0.5%. In department store brand unit sales gains, Pet Care was first in line, up 2.8%, then Beverages, +2.3%; Refrigerated, +1.9%; and Frozen and General Food, both +0.3%.