27 April 2011 – With the confectionery market continuing to boom, Mars has released its 2011 Market Review. In 2010 the confectionery market was valued at a massive £4.9 billion, and showing growth of 5.3%, it is the most significant category in snacking. Mars’ 2011 Market Review also reveals that it is the most impulsive category in-store, and that the Convenience channel will see increased footfall in-store with consumers making more frequent convenience trips per week.

Retailers will need to respond to their shoppers’ behaviour in order to drive the category and their sales. Insight has revealed key Winning Behaviours that retailers will benefit from adopting; tailored points of difference will ensure shopping missions are being fulfilled, and communicating value for money with promotions and NPD will provide consumers with something new and exciting from the brands they know and love.

Mars’ annual Market Review looks back over the past 12 months, examining key consumer trends and how the economic climate has affected shopping habits. It advises retailers on how they can best understand and capitalise on shopper behaviours. Looking ahead to the rest of the year, Mars’ Market Review has identified several key factors that will continue to drive the market throughout 2011:

• There will be an increase in convenience store use, driven by shoppers’ change in lifestyle as they take a more short-term approach to meal planning. [31% of shoppers are using convenience stores on average four or more times per week – retailers should capitalise on the fact that shoppers are in their store more often by driving impulse sales]

• Catering to the impulsive shopper will be key to driving sales – research has shown that the nature of impulsive purchases relies heavily on both value for money as well as good product availability

• Consumers will shop around for the best deals, seeking value for money and promotions – this will continue to drive growth in the Convenience channel

• Convenience stores will experience competition from operators who cater for a broader number of shopper missions and will have to be agile to respond to the challenge

• In this competitive landscape, retailers will need to better understand their shoppers’ spending habits in order to drive sales; knowing how often shoppers visit their store, why they’re there and what their key shopping missions are will be fundamental to their long-term success

• Creating in-store theatre to maximise key activities can increase basket spend, and strategically placed secondary confectionery sites can show an uplift of up to 44% in sales

Fiona Dawson, president of Mars Chocolate, comments, “Our Market Review not only highlights the continued significance of the confectionery category, but shows the extent to which retailers stand to profit from it if they continue to engage with their shoppers. At Mars Chocolate, we’re committed to helping retailers achieve this goal; our market insight and portfolio of iconic products, as well as innovative NPD, are the tools that will help them to benefit from this. We’ll be further supporting retailers in 2011 through our marketing plans, with a planned 6% increase on our media spend versus 2010, and we’ll be driving consumer awareness of our product portfolio even further.”

Bep Dhaliwal, trade communications manager of Mars, comments, “In 2011, we’re planning to work more closely with retailers than ever before. Shoppers are looking out for our brands in-store and if retailers focus on excellent display execution and maximising category presence, they will drive repeat sales. We’ll be there every step of the way to help them achieve this. We have a big year ahead, with NPD such as Galaxy Bites and outstanding promotional activity offering money-can’t-buy prizes such as Mars’ ‘Win & Play With Your Heroes’ campaign. These are just some of the ways we’re adding value for our consumers and our retailers in 2011.”