WHAT A DIFFERENCE A (PANDEMIC) YEAR MAKES.

Pivotal Perspectives 0521-01

BRAD ZENGER

Pivotal Tools Marketing Guy who loves food and wants to see Independent Grocers win!

Key Indicators

To help provide some perspective for Independent Grocers as we emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic, we thought it would be useful to see the performance of other Independent Grocers as they navigate this interesting period.  We surveyed a collection of our customers.  Below are some key indicators for these retailers as they navigate this period.  

As a reminder, significant lockdowns/stay at home mandates started the 2nd week of March 2020.  This resulted in significant increase in store sales in March 2020 relative to the same period in 2019 - many up over 50% and this period now forms the basis for same store comparisons in 2021.  

Below you see the comparison of 2021 monthly same store performance compared to the same period in 2020.  Note that 2021 weekly sales are not changing significantly from month to month this year, yet the comparisons to 2020 vary significantly, clearly reflecting the dramatic change in shopper behavior during the comparison period in 2020.  You will also see similar same store comparisons for key departments.

As we start to return more "normal" shopper behavior, note the significant growth, in the prepared foods categories:  Service Deli and Bakery (See deli/prepared foods same store sales for April 2021).  You can also see, in general over the last couple of months, customers shopping more frequently, with smaller baskets compared to 2020.

Period                                              Jan 2021          Feb 2021         March 2021          April 2021

Weekly Sales:                                 $430,700           $444,200            $435,500                $444,300

Comparable Sales (vs 2020):        `12.2%               13.5%                 -18.5%                -9.4%
Customers (vs 2020):                       -21.2%              -20.4%                 -9.5%                  28.4%
Basket (vs 2020):                                43.0%               43.3%                -10.0%                -28.9%

Sales by Department (vs. 2020)
Grocery                                               16.4%               15.7%                 -34.8%               -22.9%
Produce                                               17.4%               18.4%                 -15.1%               -13.8%
Deli/Prepared Foods                        -0.9%               -12.6%                 10.8%                 97.9%
Meat                                                     30.9%                31.4%                 -25.2%               -23.2%
Liquor                                                  29.1%               34.9%                  -1.8%                 -10.3%
Bakery                                                  2.6%                 4.5%                    3.7%                   16.8%

​More updates and insights to follow in subsequent Blog Posts.