'Tis the Season

Plan ahead to stock seasonal confections for impulse buys and last-minute gifts.

'Tis the Season

March 2021   minute read

By: Pat Pape

Despite the past year of social-distanced gatherings and Zoom celebrations, consumers are still buying, gifting and eating seasonal candies. In fact, holidays are the ideal excuse to treat themselves with minimal guilt.

“Generally, seasonal permissibility is high, with 82% of Americans agreeing that it is OK to enjoy seasonal confectionery during holidays and special occasions,” said Carly Schildhaus, public affairs manager for the National Confectioners Association (NCA). “Plus, 84% of Americans believe seasonal candies are a fun part of special celebrations, and 78% say sharing and gifting seasonal confectionery is a great American tradition.”

The Big Four confectionery seasons are Valentine’s Day, Easter, Halloween and the winter holidays, which are celebrated by nine out of 10 consumers. “Secondary seasons, such as Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, have lower but still substantial engagement, with 50% to 60% of Americans sharing and gifting confectionery,” Schildhaus said.

Preliminary 2020 U.S. convenience candy sales increased 1.6% over 2019, while units were down 5.8%.

According to Statista, seasonal candy accounted for an average of $150 in monthly sales at U.S. convenience stores in 2019. The Easter Bunny gets most of the credit, since Easter generated the largest percent of candy sales of any holiday. For Easter 2019, U.S. consumers purchased about $1.6 billion in seasonal sweets, while Halloween candy generated only $749 million in sales in 2019. But last year, the sale of c-store Easter treats suffered during the COVID-19 lockdown.

NACS Research tracks seasonal candy sales along with novelties, usually packaged candy sold with a toy or other inedible item. In 2019, novelties/seasonal candy accounted for 1.4% of total candy sales, bringing in $1,026 average sales per store and $496 average gross profit per store.

“Overall, the [c-store] candy category followed a similar in-store pattern as many other categories during 2020,” said Jayme Gough, research manager, NACS. “Initial lockdowns and store closures at the start of the pandemic threw a bit of a curveball at Easter sales in 2020. They also caused a dip in sales in the end of March/April, which rebounded over the summer, generating more sales than the previous year.”

Cultivating Candy Sales

At Rutter’s, the York, Pennsylvania-based chain with 78 locations, the focus is on Easter, Halloween and Christmas. “We typically stay away from Valentine’s Day as the window is a bit smaller,” said Joseph Bortner, manager of center store, Rutter’s. “We haven’t seen the same results [with Valentine’s] as with other holidays.”

Even though specialty candy is an in-and-out item, Rutter’s begins planning for a holiday season 10 to 12 weeks in advance of the candy’s shipping date. This spring, early orders are important to keep in mind since Easter 2021 is April 4, a week earlier than in 2020. “We’ll review prior-year sales by store and formulate a plan of attack. We do a large assortment of standard, king-size and some novelty items, like one-pound bars,” Bortner said.

Source: CSX; csxllc.com

Rutter’s stores merchandise holiday candies at the queue lines. “It’s a great location for the last-second impulse,” Bortner said. “And our customers know it’s the place to look for seasonal and new items.”

Nikki Loveless is candy category manager for RaceTrac, the Atlanta-based chain with 670 outlets. She believes that the earlier you get seasonal candy on the shelves, the better. “One-third of Easter seasonal purchases at RaceTrac are made in January,” she said. “Seasonal candy is essential to the overall strategy for confections at RaceTrac, so much so that we have dedicated space in the store to display seasonal offerings throughout the year.”

The most popular seasonal item for RaceTrac is the Reese’s Peanut Butter Egg, Pumpkin or Tree, depending on the season, according to Loveless. “This item accounts for about 60% of our total seasonal sales, with the majority of volume attributed to the king-size variety,” she said.

Slovacek’s convenience store in West, Texas, sits just off a busy interstate between Dallas-Fort Worth and Austin. Because most customers are time-crunched travelers, Ray Raybroker, general manager, doesn’t order typical seasonal candies. “We can’t compete with a pharmacy, Family Dollar or Dollar General on a regular box of chocolates like Russell Stover. They can buy them by the pallet,” he said. “Instead, we put out expensive [boxed] candies for Valentine’s, Easter and Christmas. Those stores won’t have the higher dollar items.”

Slovacek’s displays the candies in multiple locations throughout the store, including at the registers and on endcaps in busy areas. “We merchandise them as impulse and high-quality gifts for the wife or kids,” Raybroker said. “Customers are only buying one or two—not a whole bunch.”

The store begins merchandising seasonal candy about 10 days before the actual holiday. “We don’t try to get sales early,” he said. “We want the impulse buys.”

Seasonal confectionery has an exceptional ability to drive incremental sales.

Proper merchandising is key to moving them out the door. According to research, feature and display support can help “generate an average increase in volume of near 300% for seasonal chocolate and near 200% for seasonal non-chocolate,” said Schildhaus. “Seasonal confectionery has an exceptional ability to drive incremental sales. But seasons have seen compression over time, with more of the total sales happening in the final two weeks before the holiday.”

Hershey reports chocolate sales jumped 4% in the fiscal third quarter as customers indulged in Halloween candy early. Kristen Riggs, chief growth officer, Hershey, said that as consumers spend more time at home, they are trying to create special occasions. “There’s just something so special about these seasonal traditions and occasions that kind of lift the spirits in the home,” she said.

Hershey acknowledges new changes in consumer behavior amid the pandemic. Because they want to get in and out of stores quickly, shoppers no longer browse the aisles, reducing their chances of discovering new products or seeing holiday merchandising displays.

Ferrero, the confectionery company that purchased many candy brands formerly owned by NestlĂ© USA, encourages retailers to create “in-store theater” to drive excitement around the seasons,” said David Brindise, category manager for convenience at Ferrero USA. “A seasonal showcase can be effective at attracting attention to the store’s offerings.”

He also advises having a few last-minute gift items on store shelves for Valentine’s Day and the winter holidays, which “can help capture that shopper who forgot to buy a gift and doesn’t want to show up empty handed.”

Pandemic Snacking

Since March 2020, overall U.S. candy sales have been on the rise. According to NCA, the stress and boredom of the pandemic sent consumers running to the candy aisle, boosting candy sales 4.3% between March 15 and September 6, 2020.

Chocolate sales were up 5.7% during the same period, compared to a 2% increase in non-chocolate candy sales. In addition, six in 10 consumers altered their candy purchasing habits during the pandemic, NCA reported. This includes buying different pack sizes (48%), different types (46%) and different brands (42%), changes that were attributed to people working from home, altering their routines, dealing with out-of-stocks and seeking better values.

According to NielsenIQ preliminary data for 2020, total U.S. convenience candy sales increased 1.6% over 2019, while units were down 5.8%. Looking specifically at novelties/seasonal candy sales, preliminary data for 2020 indicate that sales fell 3% and units slid 9.6%, compared with 2019.

Stress and boredom have sent consumers running to the candy aisle, boosting candy sales 4.3% between March 15 and September 6, 2020.

“NielsenIQ’s monthly 2020 total U.S. convenience industry data confirm what we see in CSX for the overall candy category, which dipped in April of 2020 and slowly recovered going into the fall,” said Gough. (CSX is the engine behind category metrics and NACS State of the Industry data and provides current and customizable tools for financial and operational reporting and analysis in the convenience industry.)

The pandemic affected the performance of all spring and summer holidays, starting with Easter. “About two in 10 Americans who normally celebrate Easter, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day and the summer holidays with confectionery gifting did not do so this year due to COVID-19,” said Schildhaus.

The Party’s Over

Christmas isn’t Christmas without peppermint candy canes. Halloween wouldn’t be the same without candy corn, and Easter is unimaginable without marshmallow chicks. But when the holiday ends, remove any remaining candy from store shelves and start planning for the next sales opportunity.

“I recommend discounting seasonal candy immediately after the holiday is over. The enthusiasm is gone by then, so clear it out to make room for the next exciting season,” said Loveless.

“We know what we’re going to order and when it’s going to arrive,” said Raybroker. “Then, we hope and pray it’s all gone on the day of the holiday.”

Pat Pape

Pat Pape

Pat Pape worked in the convenience store industry for more than 20 years before becoming a full-time writer. See more of her articles at patpape.wordpress.com.

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