The share of online sales of discounted FMCG products hits a record

The share of sales of fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) discounted online reached 80% in June, setting a new record, while offline this figure returned to pre-crisis levels – to 44% of sales, follows from Nielsen IQ data.

It is clarified that about 8 out of 10 products in June were sold at discounts – after a strong decline in the number of investments and promotions in March-April, when retailers were forced to refuse discounts in order to stabilize demand, better manage the balance of goods in warehouses and prevent empty situations. shelves in stores due to increased demand. As a result, the share of FMCG sales by shares then fell to the lowest levels in recent years. For the online market, it was 50%, for offline – 32%

Now suppliers and retailers are increasingly using discounts to stimulate declining demand in the face of Russians’ desire for savings, which is “a key trend of 2022 around the world, and in such conditions, buyers are not only trying to find more affordable brands and refuse expensive purchases, but also become are more receptive to discounts, one of the most effective sales management tools,” said Marina Volkova, Director of Analytics and Consulting at Nielsen IQ.

Other retailers are also seeing the same trend. “The trend of recent months, which we are noticing, is a more rational approach to the budget for purchases. Almost every SberMarket customer puts promotional goods in their shopping cart, and the average savings per order is now up to 400 rubles,” the press service of SberMarket confirmed. Against this background, the share of private label products (PL) is also growing, which can be 20% cheaper than branded goods. SberMarket reports a 30% year-on-year increase in sales in this segment.

A significant increase in the number of promotional products is also evidenced by the data of retail chains. In particular, the share of discounts in the Vprok.ru online hypermarket Perekrestok increased by 5-10 p.p. over the past month. from the standard quantity, said the commercial director of the network Elena Matveeva. SberMarket clarified that now “the share of orders with discounted goods is 76%, and items with discounts in one order are 40%.” The depth of discounts directly depends on the category of goods and the purpose of the promotion, Matveeva believes. According to her, now the largest number of discounted products are presented in the fresh category (watermelons, cherries, ice cream, etc.), as well as in the non-food assortment line – cosmetics, household and garden products.

At the same time, the recovery rates online and offline differ. If online stores were characterized by a transition to growth in April immediately after a strong drop in March (from 50% to 66%), then in the offline market the decline continued after the decline in March indicators. In particular, in March, the share of FMCG sold fell from 43% to 37%, in April – to 32%, and traditional stores were able to return to the growth stage only in May, when the share reached 37%. Analysts believe that this is due to the fact that online shoppers tend to compare more actively and look for products at the best price.

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