JACKSONVILLE, Florida – More than $80 billion is spent annually in the health and beauty care (HBC) and general merchandise (GM) departments inside brick-and-mortar stores; however, shoppers are spending the majority of their HBC/GM dollars on channels other than grocery, according to the Washington Business Journal.
The second annual The Power of GM and HBC in Grocery report recently was released by Acosta, the sales and marketing agency for consumer goods, and the Food Marketing Institute to share insights and tactics that can help grocers grow their businesses.
“It may come as no surprise that ecommerce continues to be a major challenge for traditional retailers, but the other key trend we are seeing is not as predictable,” said John Clevenger, managing director and senior vice president, Strategic Advisors at Acosta. “Millennials represent a larger opportunity for in-store purchases, with higher reported buying rates in grocery stores than any other generation.”
The survey found that more than 50% of consumers shop the perimeter of the store weekly, compared to about 20% who shop HBC and GM each week. The report revealed strategies employed to increase revenue and tips for growth in these categories, including:
- Top categories for increased HBC sales were cold/allergy/sinus tablets (11%), vitamins (9.8%) and toothpaste (5.8%).
- Top categories for increased GM sales were culinary (32.3%), office products (14.2%) and foil pans (12.5%).
According to the report, grocery retailers looking to drive growth in GM/HBC should use promotions more frequently to drive awareness; and remain competitive with pricing, matching other channels and beating other grocers.
The report noted that there is much potential for grocery operators in GM and HBC, especially since shoppers appreciate convenience and are willing to buy more of those products in grocery stores.
For a deeper dive into c-store category performance, check out the NACS State of the Industry Report. Compare your company's metrics with top performers using financial, operational and categorical analytics from the convenience industry.