At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, baking became hugely popular. Everyone was rolling up their sleeves and rolling out dough to make their own bread products. Retailers quickly noticed the growing popularity and began stocking more specialty flours, sweeteners, and baking products. Some retailers even further appealed to their customers by offering in-store baking classes, teaching the basics of making sourdough bread, and offering other baking tips and tricks. While the popularity of baking has dropped a bit since its heyday at the start of the pandemic, this renewed popularity has become a new hobby for many consumers. In a recent report, research firm Packaged Facts predicted that this renewed surge in baking will lead to sales gains of 1.2% annually through 2027 for baking products.
Like other consumer hobbies, baking may eventually fall to the wayside as consumers move on to newer hobbies. But the lesson we can learn from the pandemic baking trend is how essential it is for retailers to identify consumers’ shopping trends quickly. Grocery stores that realized how fast their baking products were selling during the early days of the pandemic capitalized on this trend. They brought in more products, offered classes, and did everything possible to appeal to this new consumer trend. But how were they able to pivot so quickly? Data!
Data collection is the lifeblood of the retail industry. It’s essential for tracking sales, monitoring inventory, and adjusting pricing strategies. Without vital data collection systems, your store is left fumbling in the dark and hoping that you meet your sales targets. But with these systems in place, you can see what your customers are buying, when they are buying, and sometimes even figure out why. Big-name grocery chains have more data collection tools than independent retailers. But with our help, you can get data collection and store systems tools to help you compete, like:
- Mobile Ordering tools that allow you to order and tag items on the go while stocking products or setting up shelves.
- Shrink Tracking using the G.O.T. Shrink program, which helps you manage your store’s shrink and reduce costs from spoiled, damaged, or stolen goods. With this program, you can reduce wasteful spending, reduce environmental waste, and monitor which products are most at risk.
- AisleIQ makes stocking your shelves easier and faster with more efficient tag generation and store mapping. You can get an exact count of your products on the shelf and the gross sales for each product.
- Pivotalview: This web-based data collection tool increases your data collection game. With this tool, you can more easily track product sales and see changing consumer shopping trends in real time.
These are just a few data collection tools we offer as part of our store systems services. We have even more tools to help your store succeed with data-driven strategies. Numbers don’t lie. Data can show you precisely what your customers want or trends they embrace. So reach out to us today, and let’s start working on a strategy to give your store the data you need to see what your customers want!
