🧢 Coach T's Recap
Category penetration and household penetration measure different things. One focuses on people, the other on households. They’re not interchangeable, yet each has value depending on your goal.
At Tracksuit, category penetration is calculated at the individual consumer level. That means when we ask, “Have you purchased [category] in the past [timeframe]?” we're talking about people, not homes. You may come across household penetration in other data sources, particularly in FMCG and retail contexts.
So, what’s the difference?
Category Penetration vs Household Penetration
| Category penetration | Household penetration |
What it measures | 👤 People who buy (or are likely to buy) from the category | 🏠 Households where anyone buys from the category |
How it's measured | ✅ Tracksuit consumer surveys | ❌ Not measured by Tracksuit, usually comes from household shopping panel data |
Best for | Brand building, media strategy, audience targeting | FMCG & retail: sizing markets, planning distribution |
Tracksuit focuses on consumer-level penetration because brands are built in people’s minds. Measuring at the individual level helps you understand who is buying, who is open to buying, and where future demand can be grown, not just where products are currently present.