http://www.asiantrader.biz 13 OCTOBER 2017 ASIAN TRADER 35
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BATTERIESPower up your battery
category, and do it now!
I
f you are a retailer looking for products with a
great margin then look no further than the
battery category.
In fact, with the possibility of a 50% margin, this is a
category that if you get right, you can use the additional
funds to improve other areas of your store.
However, obviously, you will need to know the best way
to display and merchandise this sector.
Like many other items in a convenience store, batteries
are often purchased on impulse – as they aren’t always
items that people have the time, or urgency, to go out and
hunt for. However, if the batteries are in an eye-catching
place, this can remind those currently having to use the TV
unit to change channel that life would be much easier with
a supply of double A’s.
In fact, now is the time to make the transition tosituating your batteries in a more eye-catching area of your
store. With tough legislation surrounding tobacco display,
many retailers are choosing to locate tobacco under the
counter - freeing up the display area behind the cashier for
high value impulse items such as batteries.
Nielsen data shows that while battery market value is
static, volume has increase by 5% over the last year, with
alkaline batteries accounting for 77.7% of sales. On average,
people buy batteries three to four times per year, so there’s
plenty of money to be made from this category.
“Batteries is a high-margin and highly profi table
category for grocery retailers, but there is room for further
growth,” says Tim Clark, Panasonic Energy Sales Manager,
UK and Ireland. “Making the most of the category by
getting the ranging right, bringing in e ective in-store
promotional material, and utilising space to maximum
e ect will pay dividends.”
Owners of Broadway Premier Convenience Store in
Oxgangs, Scotland, Dennis and Linda Williams have had
some great results from their battery sales by bringing
them out from behind the counter.
“We were tentative to start with as they are high value
and pocketable items but to our surprise we found that we
didn’t have any shoplifting and our battery sales have
increased by 40-50%,” said Linda.
“We went to a round table with Procter & Gamble and
they recommended we bring them out. Initially we had
them in front of the checkouts so we could still see them
and it was fi ne. Then we moved them around the corner and
I am not worried that they are out of eyesight.”With battery sales
surging over the
Christmas period,
retailers need to
think carefully
about how to
best capitalise on
this high-margin
category. Asian
Trader reports.