A Better Retail Experience is "What Consumers Want"
Over the last 20 years, health and wellness products have evolved from a niche segment to staples you can find in retail outlets from convenience stores to big boxes to regional grocers. That shift wasn’t incidental or inevitable. It’s the result of shoppers who prioritized their health and diets by choosing natural and better-for-you products—and retailers caught on.
“It’s what consumers want,” says Melissa Dabrowski, Director of Retail Partners for SPINS. They’re seeking out products that satisfy specific needs or help them achieve goals, giving retailers a chance to establish a meaningful relationship. “It’s an opportunity to solidify their space in the market and to connect with their consumers. [An] opportunity to be part of the solution and provide better-for-you products.”
Shoppers are entering your store with health and wellness on their minds. That means simply carrying these products isn’t a differentiator anymore—it’s the retail standard. Retailers are tasked with relying on their shoppers and on the right data to provide the right retail experience.
Expert Lens: Best Practices for Improving the Retail Experience
“It’s an opportunity to solidify their space in the market and to connect with their consumers. [An] opportunity to be part of the solution and provide better-for-you products.”
Related: 2021 Diet and Lifestyle Trends
Why Data Is the Differentiator
As a retailer, you know your business better than anyone. Intuition and years of experience have helped you achieve success, and you can spot emerging trends and get a feel for where the industry might go based on conversations with your customers.
However, while gut feelings give you an idea of directional changes, they can’t tell you what action you should take.
For example, you have a sense that keto products are becoming more mainstream with shoppers—even for shoppers who are not strictly adhering to the diet. How should you respond?
SPINS reporting can show you what keto-friendly products your customers are buying, which items are trending upward, how that compares to category sales and to your competitors. You then have an idea of what your action should be, whether that’s increasing keto-friendly snacks or bringing in new keto-friendly products that are just entering the market.
Product Intelligence puts this information in black and white and lets you adjust your store to your customers’ needs so they continue to see you as the retailer who understands them and continues to stay ahead of everyone else.
How Retailers Are Using Data to Understand Their Product Assortment
The rise in demand for natural and better-for-you products has resulted in a wider range of shoppers. Many of today’s retailers see value in expanding their product offerings while still staying true to their customer base, no matter who they look like. You still have the trendsetters who adhere to all-natural, organic, vegan, or other diets and lifestyles. However, you also now see flexitarians, customers with allergies, or most conventional shoppers testing out new natural items.
“If you’re looking at natural products within natural retailers, obviously they’re the main staple of their offering,” Dabrowski says. “They’re also starting to bring in a few more conventional items to be more of a full shop.”
The inverse is true, too.
“We also know that conventional retailers are starting to take natural products and seeing the real benefit—and better for you products that are evolving in the industry and starting to bring those in their assortment as well.”
According to Dabrowski, retailers need to answer three essential questions about products they’re currently stocking or thinking of adding to their assortment:
- How are these products performing?
- What’s driving that performance?
- Where is that growth coming from?
Get a Better Retail Experience With the SPINS Intelligence Network
What are shoppers buying? Where are they shopping? Why are they choosing those products?
The SPINS Intelligence Network has the answers. Retailers rely on SPINS because we power the common language that connects brands, retailers, and consumers so that can immediately turn insights into action.
Stay informed about your rivals, your growth investments, and your relationship with shoppers. Leave your name and email below to start the conversation about improving your retail experience.
