Focus On - Big Night In

Dear Retailer, The ‘Focus On’ guides by Plan for Profit are specifically designed for the independent retailer. Each guide contains expert product and category insight to help you make the most of opportunities in store and meet the needs of your customers. The trend for shoppers socialising at home rather than visiting pubs, bars and restaurants is one of the most enduring shifts in shopper behaviours since the pandemic. Exacerbated by the rising cost of living, retailers who can beat the local competition in the way they cater for the ‘big night in’ shopper mission will earn loyal customers and drive sales and profits. But the nature of big nights in are changing. Eighty-three per cent are now pre-planned, which gives retailers a huge opportunity to promote their range through the week and remind shoppers they can get everything they need in their store . This issue has been curated to help retailers maximise the three biggest areas of a big- night-in range – snacks, confectionery, and drinks. Here, you’ll find details of the topsellers and the key trends you need to be aware of. All copies of the Focus On Guides are available to review on the Plan for Profit website and app. Visit planforprofit.co.uk or search ‘Plan for Profit’ in your preferred app store. The buying group for independent wholesalers Retailer views Page 2 View Focus On guides here: Leckbir Garcha, Drinks Express, Kitts Green, Birmingham We’ve positioned our £1.45 range of sharing crisps next to our beer fridge to encourage additional purchases from customers who are having a night in. We sell a lot of beer in four-packs too, which are well suited to couples and small groups who are having gatherings at home. The bestsellers for us are Carling and Budweiser. Foster’s has picked up again too after dropping off slightly last year. Where customers are enjoying the warmer weather at home, we’re selling more fruit ciders too. We’ve seen a definite shift from customers buying dark fruit flavours to more tropical and citrus ciders. Wine is also a strong-selling category for shoppers entertaining at home. Our bestselling brands are Barefoot and Gallo – sweeter California wines are performing well. When it comes to promotions, I tend to follow recommendations from my wholesalers. Our Unitas wholesaler, Lioncroft, always has good suggestions that we use. Jeetinder Gill, Gills Convenience Store, Walkerville, Newcastle We always have a pizza deal on. We have two pizzas and a tub of ice cream for £7, which is really competitive. The pizzas are either Chicago Town or Dr. Oetker – depending on what we can buy on offer. Wine and beer deals are also crucial to night in sales. We’re seeing ales starting to pick up – Brewdog Punk IPA and Lost Lager are our two strongest. We’re also selling a lot of fruit cider, too. We offer sharing bags of crisps and confectionery and find these sell well throughout the week. We don’t need to put them on offer. Our Unitas wholesaler is United Wholesale Grocers and we tend to cherrypick the competitive deals they have and implement the ones that we know will really suit our customers. Kind Regards, Tracey Redfearn Head of Marketing & Communications www.planforprofit.co.uk @PlanforProfitRetail @Plan_for_Profit