After a chaotic 2020, grocery industry players are focused on keeping products available on the physical shelf and leveraging new opportunities on the digital shelf, according to a new survey by SMARTeam, Advantage Solutions’ consumer goods insights team.
While product manufacturers and retailers hold differing perspectives on likely sales strength this year following unprecedented at-home consumption in 2020, they share a common view of supply chain and out-of-stock challenges.
According to results of a February 2021 survey of grocery manufacturers and retailers by Advantage Solutions:
Retailers and manufacturers have different outlooks on 2021 dollar sales growth.
Nearly half of manufacturers plan to increase prices.
Both manufacturers and retailers are concerned about the impact of production limitations and insufficient labor on the supply chain.
Nearly half of retailers plan to decrease assortment.
As more grocery sales are made online, most retailers name “improving fulfillment options” as a top e-commerce priority, while manufacturers say “digital marketing” will be their No. 1 e-commerce focus.
Nearly one-fourth of manufacturers say they’ll likely increase trade funds this year, while more than half say they’ll likely increase marketing funds, with an emphasis on digital initiatives.
“Outlook 2021: Grocery Manufacturers and Retailers” is a look at the grocery industry’s priorities and spending plans for the year and their implications.
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