Convenience stores will continue to do steady business with the health and beauty aid (HBA) category in 2015 and beyond as long as they stick to their knitting: good assortment, smaller package sizes, sharper merchandising, dependable employee assistance and seasonal products in stock when needed.
Notably broad, the HBA category encompasses a slew of home care items, such as analgesics, cough and cold remedies, cough drops, stomach remedies and antacids, vitamins, supplements and herbal remedies, sleep aids, grooming aids, shampoo/hair care, oral care, deodorants, soap, shaving needs, feminine hygiene products, baby food/formula and supplies, smoking cessation products, cosmetics and more.
As a result, competition comes not just from other c-stores, but supermarkets, pharmacies, mass merchandisers and dollar stores as well.
Health and beauty aids are considered a category apart from all others, according to Laura Bowman, manager and buyer for University Market, a convenience store located on the campus of Portland State University. “What I’ve noticed about health and beauty is that it’s very cyclical: in the spring it’s all about the allergy tablets and the Kleenex. In the winter, it’s all about the cold tablets and the Kleenex. If I can hit those two time periods and make sure I have plenty of those specific types of products on hand, then I know I’m okay.”
In all, HBA accounts for 2.5% of University Market’s store sales, roughly a percentage point above what NACS’ research shows as the industry average.
SIZE COUNTS
Product size counts as much as selection.
“Don’t waste your time on combs and brushes,” Bowman advised, “because they are not pocket sized, and that’s what consumers want when they come into a convenience store.” For that reason, she carries and has done well stocking only a single black comb. “Women’s hair styles now are very straight, so if they see that little comb, it does the trick.”
Ed Wazney, director of marketing for Holmes Oil Co. in Chapel Hill, N.C., said he has found the same thing when it comes to the portability of HBA and other items. “The mini-travel sizes have been the best thing for the category.”
HBA benefits more than most c-store categories from employee product knowledge.“It doesn’t hurt if you can know a tiny bit about cosmetics,” Bowman said.
One of the store’s top-selling lines, Burt’s Bees, a line of lip balms, has prospered because it introduced a neutral color line, which employees bring to shoppers’ attention.
“Another piece of that is, again, a little bit of cosmetic experience helps the customer who says, ‘I need a good mascara,’” Bowman said. “The same goes for your lip gloss and blush.” Plans call for beefing up the store’s cosmetics selection.
Bowman urged retailers not to be afraid to change out lines. For example, her store no longer stocks nighttime formulations.“No one wants a PM product when they come to a convenience store,” Bowman said. “If they accidentally grab one, they’ll be behind the wheel or sitting in class falling asleep. That’s not what we want. It’s not what they want. So I’m just not going to do that.”
