<blockquote class="unquoted">This is the third blog from FMI’s <a href="https://www.fmi.org/blog/nonfoods">nonfoods</a> in grocery stores series. We share compelling insights from our <span style="font-style:italic;">Power of Nonfoods</span> research among shoppers and industry perspectives to explore nonfoods’ role in the food retailing industry.</blockquote><p>By: Tom Duffy, Senior Advisor, Industry Relations, FMI</p><img src="https://www.fmi.org/images/default-source/blog-images/nonfoods-3-personal-care.tmb-large-350-.png?Culture=en&sfvrsn=703d3308_1" style="float:right;margin-bottom:10px;margin-left:10px;" class="-align-right" alt="Personal care products" sf-size="100" /><p>I admit it. I don’t really think about shampoo and soap that often. Don’t get me wrong; I use personal care products daily and their quality matters to me, but I’m not the primary decision maker in our household and I don’t keep inventory.</p><p>So, to write this post, I decided to take a rollcall of our various bottles and bars—and I was amazed at how much we had. Our bathroom has six bottles, including my 3-in-1 shower gel and a range of soaps, shampoos, and conditioners that my wife rotates depending on the day’s need. We also keep a selection on hand for guests as well as a collection of travel-sized bottles for, well, travel. </p><p>Finally, there’s the small stock we keep on hand so that we never run out.</p><p>That makes for a lot of personal care products, each playing its own role. It’s no wonder people tend to buy a wide variety of products; there are a lot of variables in this category! Shoppers have a broad range of needs and tastes when it comes to soap, shampoo, conditioner and shaving products. They also have to weigh a number of considerations such as quality, brand, selection and variety along with price and best value. </p><h5>FMI’s Power of Nonfoods report untangles that data behind this robust, complex market. Here are some of the insights:</h5><ul type="disc"><li>Grocery stores make up 26% to 28% of the personal cleansing, hair care, and shaving product markets for a total $11 billion dollars in sales annually. That’s well behind mass retailers who take up 52% to 56% of the market.</li><li>Personal care products remain a largely brick and mortar market, with 41% to 42% of consumers buying them exclusively in stores and 20% to 21% buying them mostly in stores. </li><li>Almost half (43% to 49%) of consumers buy their personal care products monthly, with weekly purchasers dropping down to 10% to 14%.</li><li>Seventy-two percent of personal care product purchases are planned. (Not a lot of impulse soap buying, apparently.) Seventy-seven percent to 84% of consumers buy them as part of their normal shopping trip. </li><li>Very few respondents (15% to 18%) have changed where they purchase these items in past 12 months. </li><li>High value and low cost play the biggest roles in decision-making. Quality and variety aren’t priorities, but consumers are very product-loyal in this sector, with 34% to 36% seeking brands that they prefer. </li></ul><p>Despite the variety of personal care products in my household, my family is aligned on a few issues; we want our personal care products to be free of unnecessary chemicals and environmentally-friendly. We also want to make certain all these products are child-safe. </p><p>Beyond that, we still have our different tastes and needs, thus all the different products. If one family can generate this many purchases, it’s an indication of what a significant opportunity the personal care product space is for grocers. </p><p><a href="https://www.fmi.org/industry-topics/nonfoods" class="button">Nonfoods Resources</a></p>
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