by Kevin Scott
Getting the bread category right in-store is an absolute must for every local retailer, and to help ensure this is the case, we spoke to some of the leading bakers in the country to find out their tips on how to get that fixture working.
An incredible 99% of the population eat bread, which means that pretty much every customer who comes through your door will buy bread once a week. Your job is to ensure that they buy it from you. As ever, bread manufacturers are only too willing to help retailers make the most of their bread fixture in order to maximise sales – and when all the groundwork is done, as long as retailers stay on top of their game, they should be well set.
“To unlock additional sales, retailers need to focus on getting the basics right; namely availability, range and merchandising,” says to Martin Baptie, Warburtons Category Strategy Controller. “Combined with reasonable promotional levels, the correct mix of mechanics and secondary display with complementary products, retailers can capitalise on key shopper missions. Achieving the best balance of these will deliver great service for shoppers and culminate in positive sales growth for the category.”
When it came to devising a system for retailers to adhere to, Warburtons worked with its retailers and came up with the following tips:
- The essential products to cater for the vast majority of shopper missions including Planned Top Up, Distress Top Up, Meal for Tonight and Food To Go
- 40% of sales are Planned Top Up Missions and 21% are Distress Top Up Missions where the key for shoppers is replenishing their cupboard, so having a core and consistent range of Wrapped Bread products in particular is key to meet this need
- If fixture space is limited, retailers need to use this space to meet the immediate needs of their shoppers. Bread makes up 80% of Bakery sales within small stores, which is reflected in Warburtons core range for smaller stores below which focuses on the key bread products
- Top up occurs throughout the day so shelves need to be re-stocked regularly as shoppers will expect their usual purchases to be available
- When shopping on Planned Top Up and other missions, shoppers tend to have a longer dwell time than when they are making Distress purchases and are therefore more open to trying new products outside of their core purchases. Capitalising on these missions by encouraging impulse purchase is a key opportunity for small store retailers
- Therefore, where more space is available, the range is adjusted to include Rolls and Bakery Snacks such as Wraps, Pittas and Brioche in order to capitalise on growing consumer trends and encourage incremental sales among shoppers.
Over at Allied, a similar plan is afoot. It makes sense. By working with retailers to increase sales, everyone makes more money. Allied Bakeries says it is committed to helping retailers make the most of the lucrative bakery category. Guy Shepherd, Category Director, Allied Bakeries, says: “Our sales teams are always on hand to help retailers, and we suggest they follow recommended ‘planograms’ for their bread section, like the below, which is specifically designed for Scottish retailers. All our planograms are regionally or account tailored for maximum impact.”
Off-fixture display units and point of sale can be used to encourage consumers to try new varieties for sandwiches, such as rolls, or breads of the world. Retailers, particularly those with less space, should also consider on-shelf point of sale such as ears and shelf edge barkers to draw consumers’ attention to particular brands or occasions.
