Top Takeaways: Nutrition Business Journal's 2019 Sales Channel Report

Wondering about your distribution strategy? Nutrition Business Journal's Senior Data Analyst gives her top takeaways from the 2019 Sales Channel Report.

Claire Morton, Senior Industry Analyst

April 9, 2019

2 Min Read
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In an omnichannel continuum that includes same-day delivery, cashierless grab-and-go stores, curbside pickup, meal kits, mobile ordering, self-scanning carts, smart home integration, pop-up stores, voice-directed shopping and whatever tomorrow brings, we could say it’s never been easier to buy. And it’s never been easier to be confused. The question is who is actually confused: the buyers or the brands?

The demands of marketing require brand managers to know who’s buying, how they’re buying and how much they are paying across multiple channels while simultaneously analyzing that mound of data to see where those shoppers overlap. With that analysis in hand, they can then try to devise a plan that choreographs the brand presence across those channels to deliver an experience that matches the brand promise and identity. That’s obviously no small task, but the next step—seeing what everybody else is doing—may be even harder.

Nutrition Business Journal's 2019 Sales Channel Report is designed to package the best available data on what’s selling where and how that dynamic is being reshuffled. The Report can also help marketers, product developers and executives plan around where to focus efforts to take advantage of all those seamless transactions the consumer has come to expect.

Claire Morton, Nutrition Business Journal's senior industry analyst, offers these top takeaways from the report: 

  • Natural and specialty retail grew 4%, and this growth is primarily supported by midsized chains like Sprouts and Natural Grocers.

  • People are still going to the store for food and other essentials, with the e-commerce share of the American shopping cart still in the single digits at 5%. However non-perishable categories like natural living and supplements are moving online at a more rapid pace.

  • Technology is becoming a key strategy across sales channels, even outside pure e-commerce. From DNA testing services through practitioner brands to services like InstaCart that make brick-and-mortar shopping easier, tech is ubiquitous.

  • Growth in mass market retail continues to level off from booming growth earlier in the decade, as the channel becomes more saturated with natural and organic products.

Download the Table of Contents and some additional Takeaways from the Sales Channel Report today. 

Learn about more improving your digital strategy in NBJ's Sales Channel Report.

About the Author(s)

Claire Morton

Senior Industry Analyst, New Hope Network

Claire Morton is the senior industry analyst for New Hope Network’s Nutrition Business Journal. She manages NBJ’s data and insights to inform the industry on market trends and forecasts in natural and organic food and beverage, functional food and beverage, dietary supplements and personal care.

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