There’s no doubt that the Covid-19 pandemic has impacted the medicinals category in grocery and retail. With the 2021 cold and flu season almost upon us, Retail World takes a look at the trends shaping the category and what the ‘new normal’ may hold.
With consumers becoming increasingly concerned about their health over the Covid- dominated past year, one of the most visited categories within grocery and retail has been medicinals. Certainly at my local supermarket, along with the toilet paper aisle, the medicinal shelves were emptied when the pandemic first hit in 2020.
“Unsurprisingly, Covid-19 has led to rising interest in immunity protection, and consumers are proactively seeking ways to protect and strengthen their immunity and overall wellbeing through sustainable health care practices,” Bayer Consumer Health ANZ Head of Nutritionals and Digestive Health Nicky Dolman said.
“Consumers are seeking preventative solutions that can easily fit into their daily lives.”
She says this is happening now more than ever, increasing the opportunities within the industry to meet this need.
“Opportunities lie in our industry and partners unplugging those opportunities to make everyday health care products as accessible and convenient for consumers as possible,” she said, “whether that be in-store or online.”
Expanding on how the pandemic has impacted the category, Ms Dolman says that while the main driver of the spike in sales across March-April 2020 was panic buying, “Covid-19 has amplified consumers’ prioritisation of everyday health care solutions, which we predict will have a long-term positive impact on the industry overall,” she said.
“We’ve seen good, continued growth across our domestic retail range since then [the beginning of the pandemic in Australia].”
Read more on the household essentials category in the May issue of Retail World magazine.