Confectionery

Confectionery has become the main target for promotions from shops and supermarkets

Supermarkets have ramped up promotions on sweets and chocolate as they continue to cut back on booze deals this year.

In total, there were 1,182 featured space promotions on ambient confectionery in the major mults in the four weeks ending 11 February, compared with just 831 during the same period last year [Promo Dynamic Retailers].

At the same time, the number of promotions on wine fell from 1,179 last year to 888, while promotions on beer & lager also dipped, by 1.1%, to 362.

“All retailers have increased promotional activity on impulse products, with this category accounting for over a quarter of all promotional activity,” says Kay Staniland, Assosia director.

“Ambient confectionery is the top promoted sub-category, based on a 42.2% increase in confectionery offers and a 24.9% drop in wine offers year on year, which was last year’s top promoted sub-category”.

Despite offering more deals on confectionery, however, the mults cut average savings on these products by 1.5 percentage points year on year to 28.8%. In contrast, average savings on wine promotions were up by 1.85 percentage points to 27.4%.

Shoppers could also find higher average savings in the bakery, chilled, frozen, fresh and health, beauty & baby categories. “The best savings of 39.4% - which is 4.2% higher than the next closest category, chilled food - continue to be found in the health, beauty & baby category,” says Staniland.

Tesco and Asda were the only supermarkets to increase the total number of featured space promotions on last year, by 9.7% and 7.2% respectively. However, they were also the only two to cut average savings year on year - down 12.7% in Asda and 1.52% in Tesco.

Sainsbury’s, which has cut the number of deals in stores by the most year on year (20.6%), has hiked average savings by 2.7% compared with last year.