This and next week we will turn our attention to category growth
How did the 100 most winning categories differ from the 100 most losing categories over the past few years?
Both penetration and frequency changes did impact category volume growth
Categories with the highest volume growth between 2019 and 2023 managed to increase their reach in the population by 1%, while the categories with the biggest decline saw their reach drop by 6%. Frequency of purchasing (+0.3 occasions versus -1.1 occasions) also contributed to category growth and decline, as did volume per occasion.
Winning categories have more buyers in 2023, but are purchased less often
The 100 categories that have grown most over the past five years are categories which have higher reach (54% in 2023) than the 100 categories where volumes did shrink most (37% reach in 2023). In spite of the latter group’s decrease in frequency they are purchased more often on average than the 100 categories that experienced the biggest gain in volume. (7.9 vs 6.6 times)
Winning categories have lower PL shares
The most winning categories boast a lower PL share than the most losing categories. We will examine some potential reasons for that difference next week, but one factor is category type: personal care categories, which typically have rather low PL shares, are over-represented amongst winning categories (32% of winners vs only 13% of losers).
