For the U.S. Candy category, along with a number of other grocery categories in the market, a major issue is that retailers are still struggling to ship candy products purchased online. There are certainly challenges to shipping these items: with summertime temperatures in warehouses without air-conditioning reaching over 100 degrees Fahrenheit, chocolate candy and even gummy and hard candy could be ruined. Our analysis of online store presence for Candy and Confectionery brands in the US found that some retailers have overcome these challenges while others are simply offering a limited candy portfolio that can be purchased online and shipped.
Target ships very few candy items it carries in its brick & mortar stores, but does offer a Buy Online Pick-up In Store option for virtually all items available in your local Target store. Walmart will ship three fifths of its candy items. At CVS, over two thirds of candy products are fulfilled online. However, consumers can see if those products are in-stock at their local store for the other third of the candy products available at CVS. The Pure Play retailers, Drugstore.com and Amazon.com both ship candy and other shelf-stable grocery items.
To maximize revenue online, manufacturers should focus on Amazon and Walmart since they are fulfilling candy well and work with other brick & mortar retailers, like Target, to drive candy to be included in the online basket.
As retailers fight to win online baskets by lowering free shipping thresholds to attract shoppers making smaller purchases, not fulfilling candy and confectionery products online becomes a wasted opportunity for retailers and brands. With online candy sales poised to grow, both manufacturers and retailers need to work together to overcome online candy fulfillment challenges and enable consumers to make those tasty purchases.
Want more insights from our analysis of the U.S. Candy and Confectionery category? Complete the form below to watch our on-demand webinar: Candy and Confectionery: Who’s Winning on the US Online Channel and Why.
The post Which US Retailers Provide The Clearest Path to Purchase Candy Online appeared first on Clavis Insight.