Procter & Gamble missed Wall Street expectations for first-quarter sales on Friday, as consumers in its major markets, the United States and China, switched to cheaper household and personal care brands.

An uncertain economy in the United States has pushed customers mainly from the lower income group to hunt for products at the cheapest price possible, hurting sales at P&G, which is facing competition from rivals discounting their offerings and cheaper private label brands.

Additionally, a grim demand environment in its second largest market, China, has resulted in P&G underperforming peers such as Nestle and Unilever.

P&G reported a 1% increase in overall organic volumes in the first quarter, while the average prices across its product categories rose 1%.

The company's first-quarter net sales fell to $21.74 billion from $21.87 billion a year earlier. Analysts had expected $21.91 billion, according to LSEG data.

Shares of the Dawn dish soap maker were marginally up in premarket trading.

(Reporting by Ananya Mariam Rajesh in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)