The crisps category is a destination aisle. Omnipresent ad campaigns coupled with NPD, such as organic or premium varieties, have created something for all. The average multiple offers 122 skus, with 18% on some form of promotion in March.
For a promotionally active category, it was interesting to find non-promoted lines at greater risk of going off-sale (19% at risk) than products singled out for promotion (18% at risk). Peak-time availability is the issue.
Safeway customers know a deal when they see it and crisps are regularly promoted. We found the most products on promotion here - 23% of the category. Safeway often struggles to meet promotional demand and the crisp category is no different, with 28% of promotional lines at risk of being off-sale at busy times and 20% of standard lines off-sale or low on stock.
Now Morrisons has taken over, customers should soon see a change. While Morrisons had 20% of non-promoted lines low on stock - the same as Safeway - we found only 12% of promotional lines affected by availability issues - the lowest figure in March.
Tesco carries the widest range in this category and we found 14% of products on promotion. On availability it does better than many of its rivals - with 16% of normal lines and 18% of promotional lines at risk of out of stocks.
Sainsbury’s levels of availability mirror the sector average - 17% of promotional lines and 19% of standard lines were at risk. Like Tesco, Sainsbury’s shoppers will only find 14% of the category on promotion, which is less than the sector average this month.
We recorded one in five crisp products on promotion in Somerfield, and of these around 17% of skus were at risk. Turning to non-promoted SKUs, we found 25% either low or out of stock at peak times. Some brand loyal shoppers are likely to be disappointed.
Asda delivers the best figures this month, with peak-time availability issues only affecting 16% of promotional lines and 13% of normal lines, reflecting Asda’s focus on this category as a key item.