by Holly Ockelmann, merchandising analyst, part of Monthly Retailer Category Tips The total feminine care category has experienced slow-to-flat growth over the last several years, but 2020 was an exception due to the pandemic. Sales have accelerated versus prior years due to consumers stocking up. Manufacturers are introducing innovative and organic products that meet varying absorbency and … Read More
Data-empowered decision-making in the retail industry
by Dave Wendland, vice president strategic relations Over the past 15+ months, new applications of analytics across the retail supply chain have been broadly implemented. From merchandising planning to retail pricing elasticity, demand recommendations to shopper personalization, analytics has taken a higher priority within many organizations. The worldwide health crisis put more emphasis on the … Read More
Monthly Retailer Category Tips — Oral Care
Position your pharmacy as an oral care destination by Cat Renwick, merchandising analyst, part of Monthly Retailer Category Tips Carry the products that will position your store as the oral care destination for your customers. Within independent drug, oral care ranks number seven in terms of both dollar and unit sales. Oral remedies is the … Read More
A brand’s e-commerce strategy should start with taxonomy
By Julie Bonnell, vice president operations In the world of e-commerce and product attributes, proper classification is paramount. Taxonomy is truly unique in that it’s not only about the products themselves, but about the vision a brand manufacturer has for its business and how that shapes the relationship with customers. For me, this quickly brings … Read More
Impress your retail partners with this visual tool
From the desk of Colleen Volheim, category and research analysis manager Heat mapping is a great tool to help build your case for deserving shelf space. Using sales data (in units or dollars), heat mapping highlights the top-selling products in a section or department. It’s a vibrant, visual way to depict the products that are … Read More
2019 new items by category
Did you know 70-90% of new CPG products fail*? What are the factors that contribute to a new item’s success? There could be a number of them related to trends, category, and timing, to name a few. For our June 2020 ROI e-newsletter for manufacturers, we spotlighted the timing of new product releases in 2019 compared … Read More
Back to the future of retail
by Dave Wendland, vice president strategic relations According to an April survey from shopping rewards app Shopkick, CPG brands should be optimistic about the re-emergence of shoppers on the retail scene. Once stores reopen, 58% of respondents say they will shop as frequently as before the pandemic, while only 36% say they will shop less … Read More
A look at COVID-19 and HBW brands – past, present, and future
By Jen Johnston, CHHC, senior marketing services account manager It’s been a rocky few months for everyone, and manufacturers of health and wellness products have had their own set of challenges. Here is a quick look at where we’ve been, where we are, and where we might be going. Where we’ve been In the early … Read More
DSCSA – 2020 deadline is rapidly approaching
By Brittany Benson, CLSSS, Lean Project and Research Specialist, for the Preparing for Track and Trace blog series In our previous posts in the Preparing for Track and Trace blog series, we explained DSCSA and what your responsibilities are under the law. We discussed T3 documentation, suspect or illegitimate products, important dates to know, serialized products, product identifiers, and … Read More
Repositioned 2019 New Items
We recently completed our annual review of new items introduced in 2019 to choose the top 50 products with greatest potential for longevity for Drug Store News. Fifty-two percent of the items selected were repositioned — items on the market previously that were rebranded, reformulated, or packaged differently, as well as new launches of products that have extended features of existing items … Read More