With the flood of promotional campaigns expected instore this World Cup & Christmas... How will your brand stand out?
Every year in the run-up to Christmas, Cosine supports brands with a combination of pre-planned or indeed last-minute changes to in-store merchandising and availability challenges to maximise product in-store sales at the peak of retail trading.
This year is no exception and in fact, product availability challenges are further worsened by the fact that there is increased ‘noise’ in-store with:
Christmas and World Cup promotions
HFSS restrictions
The cost-of-living crisis affecting consumer spending
...not to mention the impact of ongoing supply chain issues!
And these are only some of the unprecedented challenges being experienced in retail today. At Cosine, we understand the many factors which must be considered when looking at “discretionary spend” to maximise in-store sales and marketing budgets. The key to unlocking the potential for brands is to always be curious and ask a variety of questions, no matter what size or scale of the campaign to ensure that we propose the best in-store solution for brands.
This year we have many options to consider including the big question on everyone’s lips…
Will consumers change their Christmas shopping patterns in line with earlier football activities?
There are no doubts World Cup events will increase the demand for alcoholic drinks and party food – but will this change the usual sales landscape during November and December, especially with the HFSS restrictions in-store?
Whilst there is no comparable data that we can liken this to, (it’s been 92 years since the World Cup has been played in Winter) we, therefore, need to look at current consumer trends and overlay these with data insights.
Retail Week recently discussed the shift in consumer spending with key trends for the Christmas period being:
COVID impact on precious family time - coming out of Covid, consumers are placing more importance than ever on being together and gathering with friends and family, and the combination of Christmas and the World Cup is a perfect opportunity to do just that!
Sales dependent on football performance - Food and drink are essential to our celebrations for both Christmas and the World Cup and sales of the latter are likely to be dependent on how well the home nations perform! In addition, shoppers may look to Christmas canapés and our other seasonal ranges to put on a spread as they host friends to watch a game. Some retailers such as Waitrose are expecting sales to be brought forward this year with the World Cup as people get together and use dips alongside ‘picky bits’ for easy entertaining.
Cost of Living - consumers would rather be frugal with presents than sacrifice time together and they comment on how the grocery category is well positioned to make the most of this sentiment. But with all this in mind, many believe consumer spending will only stretch so far and some spending will be drawn away from gifting. However, the Health and Beauty category is forecast to be the only saving-grace for non-food sales and one of the strongest-performing categories overall. Driven by the continued shift back to offices and the return of socialising, Retail Week’s Christmas Forecast predicts sales values will rise 4.2%, with a 0.2% rise in volumes.
With all these factors at play, there is one thing for sure and that is retailers will need to continue to be flexible in how they work with brands and their consumer base.
It is not only the large grocers that need to be adaptable in their approach but there are also many considerations for the convenience channel…
Will convenience stores be positively affected by the 'cost-of-living crisis' as many people will opt to celebrate the world cup in the comforts of their own homes?
How will brands stand out amidst the frenzy of World Cup campaigns/promotions?
So how is Cosine responding to this challenge?
It’s simple. We’re using our connected thinking combining data, insight, sales expertise, and creativity to execute a sales strategy that delivers every time.
We do this by applying our deep understanding of the convenience channel. Our weekly visits and extensive data sources provide data-led solutions that are adjusted depending on shopper trends.
We design engaging solutions that create a stand-out and truly differentiate from other in-store activations and support a 'through-the-line' campaign.
We know retailers will need an agile approach to store promotions and brands will need flexible creative solutions.
In summary, when it comes to activation during the Golden Quarter, Cosine is ideally placed to help brands get what they ‘play’ for!
Get ahead of the game and speak us to find out more.