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Catalina tracks pandemic’s ‘lasting impact’ on U.S. CPG purchases

Analysis spotlights category ups and downs in first 12 months of COVID-19

Russell Redman

February 25, 2021

5 Min Read
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Catalina's data showed that, on average, grocery spending per trip rose 23% and weekly spending increased 12% in the first 12 months of the coronavirus crisis.Kroger

Health and cleaning products saw the most sales growth in year one of the COVID-19 crisis, as Americans locking down at home boosted spending for consumer packaged goods, an analysis by digital marketer Catalina shows.

For the 52 weeks beginning Feb. 15, 2020, the top five CPG categories by dollar sales gains “literally help keep the coronavirus at bay,” Catalina said Thursday. Home health testing kits — including face masks — led the way with 314% year-over-year sales growth, followed by liquid hand soap ( 246%), disinfectant cleaners ( 235%), personal moist towelettes ( 155%) and household cleaner pre-moist wipes ( 129%).

Bathroom tissue — a prized purchase in the pandemic’s early days and the subject of countless news reports on panic buying — ended up experiencing dollar sales growth of 33% and 30% for premium and value brands, respectively, over the 12-month period.

“Since face masks account for 80% of the home health testing category, the strong sales performance has increased throughout the year as the Centers for Disease Control and the Biden administration have emphasized how they can markedly reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission,” St. Petersburg, Fla.-based Catalina stated.

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Catalina’s analysis, leveraging information from its Buyer Intelligence Database, is based on food and drug retailer dollar sales per store from the week ended Feb. 15, 2020, to the week ended Feb. 13, 2021.

Related:Online CPG food and beverage sales could top $100 billion in 2021

Last March, when incidence of COVID-19 escalated around the country, U.S. consumers made more shopping trips than average, but that began to wane in April as they started sheltering at home, according to Catalina. Then beginning in May, the “lingering impact of lockdowns” resulted in a 9% average decline in weekly, in-person shopping trips, the shopper intelligence firm said.

At the same time, spending per trip increased by 23% on average versus a year earlier, and overall average weekly spending on groceries rose 12%. “While people by and large have been shopping less, they’ve been buying more,” Catalina said.

Consumers also exhibited a bigger appetite for convenience and comfort, as eight of the next 10 top-selling CPG categories are food or beverages. Those product segments include refrigerated snacks/cakes ( 87%), frozen drink smoothies ( 85%), frozen breaded vegetables ( 83%), powdered milk ( 82%), camping/sports accessories ( 77%), frozen seafood ( 71%), light/turkey/chicken bacon ( 65%), baking and biscuit mixes ( 64%), breakfast drink mixes ( 61%) and fire logs ( 53%).  

Related:U.S. household CPG spending surged 19% in 2020

“The outliers are the camping/sports accessories category, which reflects consumer excitement to return to the great outdoors as ‘shelter at home’ restrictions were lifted when warmer weather set in, and fire logs, which demonstrate the popularity of gathering around bonfires in summer and fall, while warming up in front of home fireplaces during colder weather,” noted Catalina.

Changing consumer behaviors also had a big impact on various CPG categories as Americans adapted to life under the pandemic’s “new normal.” For example, with most bars and restaurants closed, open for takeout only and/or offering limited dine-in services, adult beverages saw strong sales upticks over the 12 months, Catalina reported. Premixed cocktails/coolers had the largest increase, up 84%, followed by domestic beer/ale ( 31%), imported wine ( 28%), domestic wine ( 25%), spirits ( 24%) and imported beer ( 23%).

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Even bigger sales gains were experienced in the home baking category as U.S. consumers stayed home. Over the past year, Catalina’s data show sales of flour up by 55%, refrigerated dough/sweet rolls up 46%, brownie and cookie mixes up 45%, shelf-stable pie shells up 44%, refrigerated cookie/brownie dough up 36% and yeast up 36%.

A number of categories that had seen declines or were struggling — such as powdered milk and baking mixes in the “pre-pandemic” weeks of 2020 — experienced dramatic resurgences as the year progressed and the coronavirus crisis took hold, including baking extracts ( 48%), canned pork and beans ( 45%), chlorine bleach ( 45%), canned meat stew ( 41%) and marshmallows ( 40%).

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On the downside, sales of beauty and personal care products decreased as many Americans worked at home and students used remote learning, Catalina reported. Segments seeing declines includes wrinkle reducers (-27%), breath fresheners (-26%), face cosmetics (-20%), cosmetics remover (-19%), eye cosmetics (-11%) and hair styling (-9%).

Other categories saw a similar trend as consumers had fewer opportunities to personally interact in business and social settings. These product areas, also experiencing declines prior to the pandemic, included hosiery and tights (-33%), makeup gift sets (-25%), men’s toiletries gift sets (-25%), shoe polish and laces (-20%), weight-loss pills (-15%), alertness aids (-4%) and stationery/school supplies (-3%).

Catalina added that its Buyer Intelligence Database tracks shopping behavior by capturing up to three years of purchase history and more than 2 billion Universal Product Codes.

“We’ve painstakingly categorized shoppers into hundreds of customized audience segments on an anonymized basis in recent years. Knowing the type of products and brands they are likely to put into their carts allows us to tailor highly effective marketing messages and promotions, and deliver them across the most efficient media channels to trigger purchases,” Marta Cyhan, chief marketing officer at Catalina, said in a statement. “Doing so in the midst of a pandemic — when shopper behavior has changed so profoundly— benefits both retailers and brands as well as their customers, who are appreciating value more than ever during these uncertain times.”

About the Author

Russell Redman

Senior Editor
Supermarket News

Russell Redman has served as senior editor at Supermarket News since April 2018, his second tour with the publication. In his current role, he handles daily news coverage for the SN website and contributes news and features for the print magazine, as well as participates in special projects, podcasts and webinars and attends industry events. Russ joined SN from Racher Press Inc.’s Chain Drug Review and Mass Market Retailers magazines, where he served as desk/online editor for more than nine years, covering the food/drug/mass retail sector. 

Russell Redman’s more than 30 years of experience in journalism span a range of editorial manager, editor, reporter/writer and digital roles at a variety of publications and websites covering a breadth of industries, including retailing, pharmacy/health care, IT, digital home, financial technology, financial services, real estate/commercial property, pro audio/video and film. He started his career in 1989 as a local news reporter and editor, covering community news and politics in Long Island, N.Y. His background also includes an earlier stint at Supermarket News as center store editor and then financial editor in the mid-1990s. Russ holds a B.A. in journalism (minor in political science) from Hofstra University, where he also earned a certificate in digital/social media marketing in November 2016.

Russell Redman’s experience:

Supermarket News - Informa
Senior Editor 
April 2018 - present

Chain Drug Review/Mass Market Retailers - Racher Press
Desk/Online Editor 
Sept. 2008 - March 2018

CRN magazine - CMP Media
Managing Editor
May 2000 - June 2007

Bank Systems & Technology - Miller Freeman
Executive Editor/Managing Editor
Dec. 1996 - May 2000

Supermarket News - Fairchild Publications
Financial Editor/Associate Editor
April 1995 - Dec. 1996 

Shopping Centers Today Magazine - ICSC 
Desk Editor/Assistant Editor
Dec. 1992 - April 1995

Testa Communications
Assistant Editor/Contributing Editor (Music & Sound Retailer, Post, Producer, Sound & Communications and DJ Times magazines)
Jan. 1991 - Dec. 1992 

American Banker/Bond Buyer
Copy Editor
Oct. 1990 - Jan. 1991 

This Week newspaper - Chanry Communications
Reporter/Editor
May 1989 - July 1990

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