Category pack size trends and pack size differences between National Brands and Private Labels
How pack sizes offered and bought have changed over five years
Our Europanel BG20 initiative contains data for the pack size of each SKU that is available in a category (“On offer”) and each individual purchase (“Bought”). Using this information we look at the trend in pack sizes over the past five years: while the average pack size has hardly changed (it increased in roughly half of all categories), PLs in a majority of categories have reduced pack sizes – which also lead to a majority of categories where the average pack of PL that was purchased has shrunk in size.
Pack Size Trends by Category Type
In about half of all categories the average chosen pack size exceeds the average pack size offered in a category. This varies across category types, however: while in a majority of beverage and personal care categories consumers lean towards sizes that exceed the average size offered, the opposite is true for household care, food and pet food. Do you know whether large or small sizes in your category and your own assortment (relative to the sizes offered) stand out in terms of choice?
National Brand vs Private Label pack sizes
Comparing the actual sizes offered and purchased between NB and PL in a category we see that NB sizes tend to be smaller than PL sizes in a slight majority of categories. In a clear majority of categories, however, the sizes chosen are bigger for PL than NB. Given the price premia of NB versus PL it comes as no surprise that consumers lean towards smaller NB pack sizes, especially if the focus is on the actual amount spent and not on potential savings that a larger pack size might provide per g/l.