TABS Analytics Blog

Growth Driven by Large Uptick in Occasional Buyers and  Addition of New Hair/Skin/Nail and Melatonin offerings

Shelton, CT – June 26, 2018 – Vitamin, mineral and nutritional supplement (VMS) sales grew by an estimated $500 million, or 3 percent, during the past year, driven by record increases at both online outlets and brick and mortar stores, according to the TABS Analytics 11^th Vitamins, Minerals and Supplements Study. The 3 percent growth in the $14 billion VMS market was fueled by an increasing number of consumers who purchased products occasionally, and by strong growth at both Amazon and Walmart.

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.

TABS Analytics completed its Vitamin and Mineral Supplements Study in May 2016. This third and final infographic in the VMS study below further highlights key findings, including:

• FDMCD (Food, Drug, Mass, Club, Dollar Stores) continues to have the highest buyer penetration
• But, Specialty attracts more heavier buyers
• However, heavy buyers in general have been trending downward over the past 5 years

Click here to view as a PDF.

TABS Analytics completed its Vitamin and Mineral Supplements Study in May 2016. The infographic below highlights some of the key findings in the study, including:

• How the mix of category buyers is changing
• Which retailers saw shares increase
• Which retailers saw shares decrease

Click here to view as a PDF.

Overall softening in vitamin sales due to fewer heavy buyers may spell trouble for growth ahead; Walmart, Target, Walgreens, Rite Aid, and Sam’s slip

Shelton, Conn. – May 25, 2016 – The online retail channel is the top outlet for sales of vitamin and mineral and supplements (VMS), hitting $2 billion and surpassing Walmart’s vitamin sales of $1.7 billion in 2016, according to the 2016 TABS Analytics Vitamin and Minerals Supplements study. Vitamin specialty, which includes Vitamin Shoppe and GNC, ($1.5 billion); Costco ($1.3 billion); and CVS ($1.2 billion) round out the next three largest outlets for annual VMS sales. TABS found that VMS sales were up three percent compared to 2015 and were being driven primarily by increases in pricing. TABS Analytics estimates the annual U.S. VMS retail market to be $12.8 billion.

TABS Analytics just completed its Vitamin Study in May 2016. The infographic below highlights some of the key findings in the study, including:

• Trends in online vitamin sales
• What product types are on the rise
• And what product types are on the decline

Click here to view as a PDF.

The TABS Group has conducted a survey on consumer trends in vitamin and nutritional supplements annually for many years. For the first time, the study scope was expanded to include sports nutrition as an additional area of interest.

The study, fielded in early 2015, utilized responses from 1015 demographically and geographically dispersed consumers to measure both consumption and channel preferences (findings presented in the Vitamin and Sports Nutrition study webinar in May 2015.)

For purposes of the study, channels were divided into mass market and specialty outlets. Mass market includes food, drug, mass merchandisers, club and dollar stores. Specialty included nutritional specialty stores, natural food stores, online, catalog, multilevel marketing and other outlets.

Sports nutrition was defined as performance and protein powders, drinks and pills. Energy bars and shots were specifically excluded.

The goal of the study was to uncover how often consumers purchase various types of sports nutrition products and which outlets they use for their purchases.

The TABS Group has done an annual study of consumer shopping and consumption habits for vitamins for the last several years. Each year, we survey approximately 1,000 geographically and demographically dispersed consumers to gain insight into their vitamin usage and the factors that correlate to overall consumption patterns (findings presented in the Vitamin and Sports Nutrition study webinar in May 2015.)

For purposes of the study, we divided channels into mass-market and specialty groupings. The mass market category consists of food, drug, club, dollar stores and other traditional mass market outlets. The specialty category consists of nutritional specialty stores, natural food stores, catalog, multilevel marketing, online and other focused outlets.

Over the last several years, online purchasing has become an increasingly significant channel for vitamins. Comparing results from the 2014 and 2015 surveys yields significant insights into consumers’ rush to embrace the online channel.

TABS Group’s Eighth Annual Vitamin and Sports Nutrition Survey (findings presented in a webinar in May 2015) showed some surprising trends and changes from prior years, particularly regarding shifts in long standing channel preferences among consumers. Coupled with the changes in consumption patterns discussed in our last blog post, these preferences may be showing the early signs of fundamental changes in the industry.

TABS Group‘s Eighth Annual Vitamin and Sports Nutrition Study uncovered some interesting shifts in consumer buying patterns. From the products bought to the channels chosen, nearly every metric has shown some change from a year ago. Here are a few of the highlights from the Vitamin (VMS) portion of the study that was presented in a webinar in May 2015. You can download the corresponding report at the bottom of this post.