Consumer preferences for alcohol beverage products are changing at a faster pace than ever before. Responding quickly to these demands has already become a business conundrum for convenience retailers, giving them enough reasons to wonder: how can I catch up with those trends without operating at a loss?
Making this situation even more complex, the current state of the fragmented 3-tiered alcohol distribution system fails to favor c-store operators whose main priority rests upon:
- Tackling sourcing inefficiencies
- Handling price volatility and distributor substitutions
So, being able to remain competitive and achieve business goals, while also demonstrating fluency at capturing trends, requires convenience stores to be forward-thinking and exploit those trends to their advantage.
Keeping up with the latest trends at the c-store level
Despite all these challenges, one thing remains certain: convenience stores that catch consumer trends early will be able to thrive and sustain growth.
That said, here are our top 3 trends in the beer industry we think are worth paying vigilant attention to:
- Sales for variety packs are down 62%. Despite gaining popularity in 2021, variety packs do not typically perform well at a c-store channel compared to other outlets.
- Flavored malt beverages are picking up in every outlet, but especially in convenience stores where they achieved a 10% increase in sales. This growth positions flavored malt beverages at the top of the list for the highest sales growth by segment.
- Cans are knocking down bottle sales across the board. The Singles 19-24 oz can is adding 3x the incremental dollars than any other package and with bottles incurring a stark decline in popularity ($188 million/YOY), 6-pack 12 oz packages specifically are leading the loss in sales with $94 million in missed revenue.
And there you have it. With data, featuring the right assortment of alcohol beverage products is key to delighting your consumers with the right product at the right time.
Discover your “aha” moment with data
Consumer demands for alcohol beverage products are changing fast, and in the race toward accelerated growth, being data-driven is no longer optional.
C-store operators must focus on data to understand, plan, and feature the right alcohol beverage products that contribute the most to their bottom line. Better manage your in-store inventory, track your margins, and develop better demand-supply alignments with a customer-centric focus.
Be able to anticipate market trends to create the right balance between satisfying consumers’ ever-evolving needs and meeting your business objectives at the speed of change.
Ready to infuse knowledge into your growth?
Fintech is now back as a sponsor for the upcoming PDI Users Conference, which will take place on August 28-31, 2022, at the Gaylord National Resort in Washington, DC.
This year, Sameer Mungur–Fintech Chief Data Officer–will take the stage to share his valuable expertise on how convenience retailers can feature the right alcohol beverage assortments while securing sales growth over the long haul with data at the core.
His presentation will cover impactful, industry-defining microtrends, courtesy of InfoSource Market Intelligence, and actionable ways to meet shifting consumer demands while keeping a laser-focus on high business growth. Do not miss this remarkable opportunity to dive headfirst into what matters the most to remain competitive.
Wrapping up…
We invite you to join us at PDI Users Conference 2022 to give you the best insights on how to navigate shifting consumer demands without compromising your business objectives.
Are you ready to accelerate your business growth with data? Meet Sameer at the conference and let us help you reframe your future.
Get to know Sameer Mungur
Sameer is Fintech’s data visionary, adept at understanding the various challenges relatable to the fragmented 3-tiered alcohol distribution system.
He accrued over 20 years of experience mastering retail innovation and marketing initiatives with a data-driven, customer-centric focus. As our CDO, Mungur was instrumental in leveraging PaymentSource data to help us deliver value-added services to over 180,000 licensed retail outlets.
Thanks to his strategic direction and execution, Fintech Data Solutions has now built a much richer path toward end-to-end supply chain optimization.
Mungur’s presentation, “Harness consumer trends while improving profitability,” will take place at PDI Users Conference on August 30 at 9:50 am ET.
We are excited to see you there.