diff --git a/lib/promrelabel/if_expression.go b/lib/promrelabel/if_expression.go
index 6ae413efa1..78519d3e8a 100644
--- a/lib/promrelabel/if_expression.go
+++ b/lib/promrelabel/if_expression.go
@@ -141,7 +141,10 @@ func newIfExpression(s string) (*ifExpression, error) {
 // String returns string representation of ie.
 func (ie *IfExpression) String() string {
 	if ie == nil {
-		return "[]"
+		return "{}"
+	}
+	if len(ie.ies) == 1 {
+		return ie.ies[0].String()
 	}
 	return fmt.Sprintf("%s", ie.ies)
 }