● Spend on traditional ad space by batteries’ five biggest advertisers has surged 63.3% in the past year as brands have sought to stem shoppers’ migration to the discounters. 

● This growth has been primarily driven by market leader Duracell, which more than doubled its spend as part of its ongoing partnership with Disney, which has seen the brand tie up with the Star Wars and Cars franchises for above-the-line and in-store activity.

● Meanwhile, Energizer cut back spend significantly following the brand’s spike in spend the previous year to support a spate of NPD.

● Varta shelled out nearly £72k on outdoor ads trumpeting its claim that it lasts as long as Duracell.

Ebiquity 52 w/e 31 May 2017

● The battery market has remained relatively flat, as shoppers continue to buy in greater volumes but at cheaper prices. Volume increases have been driven by bigger packs, 8-packs in particular.

● Prices are being pushed down due to the growth through value retailers. Now nearly one third of shoppers pick up at least one battery product in value retailers per year.

● Three quarters of all batteries are now sold at full price – and this figure is increasing.

● Speciality (recharge and button batteries) prices have seen a slight fall, driving speciality decline, while general purpose batteries’ price decline is offset by volume growth.

 Kantar Worldpanel

● Value retailers are of growing importance in the batteries market as shoppers hunt for cheaper prices and such retailers win share from traditional grocery and high street outlets.

● Prices are being pushed down due to the growth through value retailers such as Lidl, bargain stores and pound stores. Now nearly one third of shoppers pick up at least one battery product in these value retailers over the course of the year.

● Waitrose has seen the steepest decline in the past year, with value sales crashing by nearly a fifth, a loss of £1.5m. Lidl’s jump of 16.4%, conversely, was worth an extra £800k to the retailer.

Kantar Worldpanel

● Branded batteries have seen a slight decline due to the recharge sector. But zinc carbon is in 10% growth as Kodak (the biggest zinc carbon brand at £9.3m) attracts new shoppers.

● Own label has seen minimal growth, with Tesco the only main grocer to grow outside the value outlets. Value retailers’ own brands have all seen double-digit growth.

● Brands have been choosing to renovate rather than innovate: Energiser recently redeveloped Energiser Max to provide a longer lasting product.

● Energiser’s value growth has slowed this year after double-digit growth in 2016. Duracell maintains its number one market share (47% of value), after a year of continued partnership with Disney.

Kantar Worldpanel 52 w/e 23 April 2017