TABS Analytics Blog

Early Results of TABS Analytics 5th Annual Food and Beverage Survey Show
Differences between Online and Brick and Mortar Shoppers at Retailers including Target and Walmart

Shelton, CT – August 17, 2017 – TABS Analytics today shared early results from its forthcoming Annual Food and Beverage Consumables Study that showed that some of the strongest support for President Donald Trump comes from online shoppers. Target.com and Walmart.com shoppers, in particular, were more favorable of the President than those who shop at other grocery outlets, including the brick and mortar stores of those retailers.

While everyone is focusing on pure play online giant Amazon, what they are likely missing is how brick and mortar retailers are driving eCommerce sales growth. And, nowhere is this more apparent than in the vitamins, minerals and supplements (VMS) market.

The TABS Analytics 10^th Vitamin and Minerals Study revealed that online sales by traditional brick and mortar retailers propelled the market to an all-time high, growing an estimated 6 percent in the last year to reach $13.5 billion in annual sales.

VMS market has grown six percent over 2016; Costco and brick and mortar ecommerce post sizable share gains while CVS and Food Channel lose ground.

Shelton, CT – July 19, 2017 – Online sales for vitamins, minerals and supplements (VMS) surged 20 percent growing from $2 billion in 2016 to $2.4 billion in 2017, according to TABS Analytics’ 10^th Vitamins, Minerals and Supplements Study. Much of the growth is due to the performance of brick and mortar online retailers, which outpaced Amazon and other pure play outlets in growth and gained almost 19 percentage points in online transaction share.  Brick and mortar stores sales of VMS grew three percent. TABS Analytics estimates the annual U.S. VMS market grew 6 percent over 2016 and now stands at $13.5 billion in sales annually.

Sales of baby products were down across all demographics, except one – the highest income individuals. This was just one of the interesting insights that were revealed in the recently released TABS Analytics 2017 Baby Product Study.

TABS' CEO, Dr. Kurt Jetta, highlighted findings from the second-annual survey, which examined the shopping patterns in the estimated $30 billion market for baby products. This market includes seat and safety products, feeding needs, diapers and accessories, formula and food, and baby needs, such as shampoo, lotion, powder and ointments. The study also looked at the types of outlets – mass market, specialty and online – at which these purchases were made, as well as key demographics, including income level and presence of young children (ages 0 to 5) in the home.

In our first infographic from the 2017 TABS Baby Care Study, we highlight the importance of buyers without young children. Some findings from our study include:

• Buyers without young children are also purchasing baby products  
• Household penetration rises with income, with higher-income households having the highest levels

Be sure to watch the recording of our 2017 Baby Care webinar where we reviewed these points, and more, in detail.  

High income households fueling sales while households under $74,000 pull back from $30 Billion baby care products market; Walmart and Target lead all retailers in overall sales

Shelton, CT – April 26, 2017 – U.S. baby products sales have declined at least $3 billion (approximately 10 percent of the baby product market) compared to 2016 according to TABS Analytics’ 2017 Baby Products Study which was released today. According to the annual baby products study, 57 percent of high income households with incomes of $150,000 or more made at least one baby product purchase in the last year compared to just 24 percent of households with incomes between $75,000 to $99,000. Although the online share of baby products sales increased from 20 percent in 2016 to 22 percent in 2017, the actual online sales dropped, mirroring the overall drop in sales of the entire U.S. baby products market.

In our second infographic from the 2017 TABS Personal Care Study, we highlight the importance of the Dollar Store channel in attracting personal care buyers, as well as some other findings, including:

• How do families with children compare to millennials 
• Where do consumers shop most frequently for personal care 
• Who wins the hearts and minds of value brand consumers  

Be sure to watch the recording of our 2017 Personal Care webinar where we went into all of this, and more, in detail.  

Generation X, Hispanics, and consumers in West South Central, U.S. are propelling sales, only 2.5 percent of all U.S. adults shop online and buy organics

Shelton, CT – March 21, 2017 – Walmart leads all retailers with a 19.4 percent share of purchases in the $40 billion personal care market TABS Analytics reported today in its First TABS Analytics Personal Care Study. Traditional food stores (such as Kroger and Publix) followed closely behind with a 16.6 percent share and Target came in next with 12.1 percent share. Online purchases of personal care products have just a 3.1 percent share -- roughly $1.2 billion of the $40 billion personal care market. Generation X (ages 35-44) led all age groups in heavy buying with 37 percent, and millennials coming in a distant second with at 24 percent. Thirty-three percent of Hispanics reported being heavy purchasers of personal care products.

In our first infographic from the 2017 TABS Personal Care Study, we highlight the importance and influence that deals have for personal care buyers, as well as some other findings, including:

• Who the heaviest personal care buyer group is
• How well Ecomm does in personal care (vs. Ecomm in grocery)
• What's driving Dollar Channel growth

Be sure to register for our 2017 Personal Care webinar where we'll go into all of this, and more, in detail. 

Few forces have shaped the consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry over the past 20 years like category management. Originally, the domain of large firms with massive budgets, sev­eral improvements in information technology and the emergence of sophisticated, less expensive outsourcing options have largely erased the huge advantage these firms once enjoyed. Just about every company over $50 million nowadays has some kind of category management infrastructure and the largest manufacturers continue to increase their investment with headcount, software, data and hardware at retailer locations (on-sites).

But, as we argued in our recent webinar, the process of presenting category management findings in fact-based selling presentations to retailers more often than not remains mired in arcane procedures and complexities that churn out the wrong conclusions. There's a better way to deliver fact-based presentations to the retail trade: using the FORCE process.