Georgina Wild of HIM urges retailers to make the most of the X Factor effect

HIM’s Future of Convenience Report tell us that 52% of consumers say they will be going out for dinner less in the next 12 months.

On top of this, 46% say they will be going away less on weekend breaks or holidays in the next 12 months, and 27% say they will be entertaining at home more in the next 12 months.

All of this means that there is an absolutely huge opportunity for c-stores to cash in on the ‘big night in’ shopping mission.

With TV shows like the X Factor and Strictly Come Dancing leading the TV ratings, many consumers are staying in on a Saturday night specifically to watch these shows and making a special occasion of it with friends and family at home.

In what is being come to be known as “the X Factor or Strictly effect” on sales, we are seeing increasing numbers of shoppers popping to their local store to stock up on goodies such as beers, wines, spirits and snacking items such as crisps, pop corn, ice cream, soft drinks etc.

So are retailers making the most of this opportunity?

Take a look at your store and ask yourself are these associated treat products grouped and merchandised together as ‘everything you need for your big night in’?

Soft drinks are the fifth most likely category to be found in the same basket as share bags of crisps, so a promotion or reduced-price deal, which includes any bag of sharing crisps and any big bottle of soft drink, makes perfect sense. And it’s something any retailer can try.

A good recent example of this theme is PepsiCo and Britvic’s first ever UK cross promotion featuring ‘Jalapeno Fire’ flavoured Doritos and Pepsi Max ‘Citrus Freeze’.

The promotion is a great example of UK customers’ growing demand for cross-category promotions, which meet a specific need: in this case ‘big night in’ and other social ‘at home’ occasions that are on the rise.