The primary reason shoppers visit convenience stores is to top up on every day essentials and many of these items fall into the dairy category (Source: IGD, ShopperVista Report, May 2013).
Therefore, ensuring your store has a strong offering of dairy products is of paramount importance. The latest Nielsen market data suggests that the dairy category is witnessing value growth within the total market (Source: Nielsen Data Report 2013). This exposes the strength and further potential of the dairy category.
Due to the nature of the products, keeping them fresh is a key factor in maintaining the quality of the product. However, it’s not just storage in store which is important, ensuring that products are temperature regulated whilst in transit is also vital, as volatile products such as milk can go sour if left too long in a hot environment. This is why using a trusted wholesaler, like Palmer & Harvey, guarantees that products arrive at your store in good condition, whilst also removing the need for you to leave your store to collect products yourself.
The product consumers need to replenish most frequently in this category is milk, meaning it is important that you are always fully stocked on this item – shoppers are unlikely to return to stores where they can’t get hold of key everyday essentials. With this in mind, here at Palmer & Harvey, we are dedicated to working hard to help our retailers give a strong offering of this ‘must-stock’ item, with an on-going ‘Any 2 for £2′ promotion across 4 pints of milk and loaves of bread. Our retailers have seen great success with this promotion, with effective point of sale material helping to drive footfall and sales.
Butter and margarine are also ‘must stock’ items within the category; and although greater focus on healthy living has driven a decline in these products, it is still a staple product for the vast majority of households and still has a greater penetration than the most grocery items. What’s more, with the considerable markets of cheese, yogurts, cream and dairy based drinks also making up the category, the importance of stocking a competitive dairy range is clear. Getting the right product mix is not only vital for your sales in the dairy category, it can also help your overall store turnover – chilled customers have an average basket spend of £10.44 per visit versus the £6.04 convenience store average (source: HIM CTP 2013).
The dairy category is an imperative part of the industry and we know just how important it is to your business. You can rely on Palmer & Harvey to bring you the latest developments and trends from the market to ensure you have the best product mix to meet your customers increasing needs, whilst providing you with advice and knowledge to help your business grow.
Gareth Jones, Category Development Manager of Chilled and Fresh Foods, Palmer & Harvey.
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