MADISON, WIS. — The International Dairy-Deli-Bakery Association (IDDBA) and Nielsen Fresh have published a new report that provides retailers with ideas and strategies for boosting bakery bread sales. The report, “Total store connectivity: revealing new pathways to win with bakery breads,” was commissioned by the IDDBA and prepared by Nielsen Fresh.
The report examines the connections between in-store bakery bread and the rest of the store, looking specifically at how often product categories were purchased with bakery bread by shoppers on the same trip.
Additionally, the report identifies what products are most connected to bakery bread and how identifying these connections may generate larger baskets and boost sales, through new and innovative merchandising and marketing concepts, according to the IDDBA.
Among the report’s findings are:
• Bakery department sales increased 5% over the past year — the second highest among supermarket fresh departments — with total annual sales of $11.2 billion. Sales of bakery bread remain flat.
• Bread has a strong positive correlation with 56 out of 221 supermarket food categories, representing 20% of total store dollars and spanning 8 out of 17 departments.
• Fresh salmon and value-added vegetables form both a strong sales and basket connection with bakery bread, creating cross-merchandising opportunities, the report noted.
The research is available to IDDBA members only.
“Despite increased overall in-store bakery sales, bakery bread sales have remained flat and in some cases have declined,” said Eric Richard, education coordinator, IDDBA. “In addition to focusing on freshness and the simple ingredients — which many of today’s shoppers are searching for — identifying natural sales connections between bread and other store products can help retailers boost their bakery bread offerings, provide shoppers with appealing meal and entertaining ideas, and grow sales in the form of Total Store Connectivity.”
IDDBA is a nonprofit membership organization serving the dairy, deli, bakery, cheese, and supermarket food service industries.
