Cost-conscious Australians are now nearly twice as likely to look for supermarket specials than to switch to a private label alternative, according to new analysis by Circana.  

66% of shoppers polled by Circana said they were relying on promotions or specials to help manage concerns about rising prices, while only 36% said they were buying more private labels or home brands.

Circana’s data also found name brands have much greater visibility when people are shopping for a deal. Just 4% of private label grocery items were sold on promotion in the 12 months to early January 2026, compared to 39% of all packaged grocery units.

Australians have, however, been buying more supermarket home brand products in recent years, with pantry products, bakery and frozen food gaining the biggest spending share. Almost two-thirds (65%) of shoppers surveyed told Circana they believe store brands are a good alternative to name brands, up five percentage points since 2021, but there are signs that private label growth is beginning to stall.

Excluding tobacco, total grocery spending increased by 4.2% in the six months to March 2026, putting it slightly ahead of private label growth at 4%. The total number of grocery items bought in the six months to March also rose by 1.6%, ahead of home brand products which increased by 1.1%.

This breaks a four-year pattern of growth for private labels, as spending in this category had been growing around 2.6 percentage points faster than the grocery market as a whole.

Private label share has been falling in produce and some other fresh categories, but sales of premium supermarket ranges are growing.

Quality versus price

Circana also found shoppers don’t judge value on price alone. 49% of those surveyed said getting the lowest price was extremely important when deciding whether something offered good value for money compared to more than half (55%) who said consistently good product quality was extremely important.

People who said price was the most important thing when choosing a product spent 6% more on private label than the average shopper and bought 9% more private-label units. But shoppers who said they were willing to pay more for better quality spent 8% less on private label than average, despite spending 4% more on groceries overall.

Jules Green, Director, Food & Grocery and Growth Enabling Teams at Circana, says Australians haven’t stopped buying home brands, but they’re becoming much more selective about how they save their money.

“Value isn’t always about choosing the cheapest product and a familiar brand on a strong promotion can be just as compelling as switching to a cheaper alternative,” he says.

“Private label has become a normal part of the weekly shop for many and strong sales for more premium supermarket ranges show that home brands do not always have to win on price alone.

“Retailers have an opportunity to create products people choose because they want them, not simply because they’re cheaper.”