For convenience and symbol stores, biscuits are a valuable asset, with various types of shoppers turning to them for a range of occasions. Busy, on-the-go consumers frequently pick up biscuits as part of their daily routines, whilst take-home biscuits have long been popular and shoppers love to stock up on them. Both avenues mean that there are significant opportunities for retailers to meet customer demand and reap the rewards.
Worth £26.8m across independent and symbol stores in the UK, on-the-go biscuits can be a key driver of growth for retailers. To provide for shoppers more effectively, it is important to know them in more detail. Typically, on-the-go shoppers are younger and more affluent and willing to pay more in-store. This can be explained by the fact that on-the-go biscuits tend to have a higher price per kilo yet still sell well. Obviously, this is great news for retailers.
On-the-go shoppers often favour healthier options and are looking for a more mindful meal bridge, although value is of growing importance in the current climate. With costs rising all around, many shoppers are moving away from on-the-go lines and favouring alternatives that offer more value. Keeping this in mind, it is pivotally important that you clearly signpost any deals your biscuit lines are included in to make the most of your on-the-go offering. These quick and easy biscuits were a huge part of making breakfast the fastest-growing part of the day for on-the-go shoppers – 44% of them were purchased with a hot drink. So, pairing these two will help draw value-seeking customers in.
Among independent and symbol stores, healthier lines are of increasing popularity. A whopping 84% of shoppers say that ‘healthy’ is an attribute that they regularly shop for and it regularly impacts their snacking choices. This was proven last year, as healthy biscuits made up a 54.2% share of the on-the-go segment! To make the most of these popular biscuits there are a few places in stores where they tend to perform particularly well. Obviously, stocking lines on our main fixtures will make them easier to find for shoppers specifically seeking them out, whilst supplementing this with food-to-go sections, around checkout and in queuing areas will help more shoppers see the stock and boost sales.
Whilst both healthy and cereal bars are hugely popular biscuit lines, some sweeter options are also bought frequently. Both Kinder Cards and Kinder Happy Hippos are among the top 10 most popular on-the-go biscuit lines, as are Cadbury Snack biscuits, too. As with any other efforts to boost a specific area of your store, it pays to stock bestsellers, as you know they are the lines that shoppers find most appealing.
Whilst your on-the-go offering is important in-store, take-home biscuits still make up the majority of biscuits sales – more than 80% in independent and symbol stores. When buying biscuits, 20.1% of shoppers bought from a promotion, whilst 17.1% picked up price-marked packs. Both of these commonly draw in unplanned buys, and 28.2% of shoppers buy take-home biscuits on impulse.
Again, healthy brands are frequently bought take-home biscuits, but both everyday biscuits and treats make up the majority of purchases. So, as well as stocking popular every day biscuits, supplementing these with everyday treats such as Oreos and KitKats will help you secure more sales. Grouping your stock on shelves into sweet, savoury and other segments will help shoppers find the lines they love.
Whether they are topping up their home supplies or grabbing breakfast on the move, shoppers are regularly looking for biscuits. By understanding your customers and offering the most popular lines, you can keep shoppers happy and add more value to your store’s biscuit stock. Ensuring that you have a great on-the-go offering and the best breakfast biscuit selection can help you capitalise on busy shoppers. Offering value in the take-home category and supporting it with popular everyday chocolate biscuits will cater for those looking to top up. Optimising biscuit stock across independent and symbol stores is a win-win for everyone, as the better you serve your customers’ needs, the more they will trust and rely on your shop.
