Most Consumers Say Store Brand, Name Brand Allergy Meds The Same

More than 7 in 10 consumers who purchase over-the-counter allergy medications said private label and name brand products offer the same quality, according to data from Numerator.

Using a combination of purchase data information from a survey of 500 verified buyers, 72% of survey respondents said store brand allergy treatments are equal to name brand items. Additionally, 20% said the name brand is high quality and 8% said the store brand products are usually higher quality.

Shoppers were evenly split between store brands and name brands when buying OTC allergy medications. In the survey, 38% of respondents said they mostly or always purchase brand names, while 36% of respondents said they mostly or always purchase store brand products. The remaining 26% said they buy brand name or store brand products equally. 

Walmart’s Equate brand is the most popular among store brand allergy medications. When asked which of the following brands they use or would consider using to treat allergy symptoms, the top answers were Benadryl (46%), Claritin (45%), Zyrtec (42%), Equate/Walmart (37%), Allegra (37%), Flonase (36%), CVS Health (19%), Walgreens (18%), Xyzal (16%), Up & Up/Target (13%), Kirkland Signature / Costco (12%), Members Mark/Sam’s Club (12%), and DG Health/Dollar General (11%).

Nearly two-thirds (64%) of households purchased OTC allergy medications in the past 12 months, spending an average of almost $58 and making 3-4 separate purchases. 

April is historically the top month for allergy medication sales (11.3% of annual sales in 2023), followed by March (10.4%), May (10.3%) and September (8.6%). March 2024 allergy medication sales were up 15.4% versus last year, indicating a potentially heavier allergy season.

The average allergy medication buyer is more likely to be a high-income, married Gen Xer living in a rural area. Compared to the average consumer, those who purchase OTC allergy meds are 7% more likely to be Gen X, 12% more likely to live in the East South Central U.S., 9% more likely to have an income of more than $125k, 12% more likely to be married, and 8% more likely to live in a rural area.

Additionally, three-quarters of survey respondents said advertising does not influence their purchases, while 17% said they are more likely to consider a brand whose advertisement they have seen, and 8% are less likely.