Private Labels Find Their Way Into 25 Percent Of U.S. Households

Private label consumer goods are used in more than 25 percent of households in the United States, a sharp increase from 18 percent in 2000. Affordability of private label products and more advanced marketing strategies used by retail chains and manufacturers are driving growth in the private label market. Also, technology advances have enabled manufacturers to create quality labels in-house. The market for private label products are forecast to keep growing because of their popularity in retail chains, consumers' search for bargains as the economic slowdown continues, and private label manufacturers' use of label-making technologies to compete with brand-name goods.