Hershey Executes ‘Massive’ Halloween Assortment Change Driven By Consumer Insights
The Hershey Company, a longtime user of consumer insights within its retail strategies, is leveraging them within this year’s Halloween assortment strategy.
The consumer goods company leans hard on assortments during this critical season since they’ve accounted for 60% of total Halloween growth across the candy, mint, and gum category in the last five years, according to a company blog post. Although Reese’s, Kit Kat, and Hershey’s bars are its most sought-after brands, they were only included within a low number of assortments.
As a result of these insights, Hershey executed a “massive assortment renovation” this year that resulted in heavier inclusion of these brands. It also launched new assortment packs with the Haribo Gummies brand and upgraded the graphics.
The data source for these updates stemmed from a qualitative and quantitative survey of consumers, the company told CGT. They conduct monthly surveys to examine a variety of topics, including seasonal trends surrounding holidays and fall baking, as well as insights around occasions such as gaming and snacking or on-the-go snacking.
Patient and Price-Sensitive Consumers
Though Hershey began shipping Halloween candy to retailers in June, consumers aren’t stocking up as much, according to the company.
“For the most part, consumers have regained their trust in supply chains, so we don’t expect to see them stocking up on candy extra early in the season, as we saw in the recent past,” note Martin Moore, senior manager, consumer intelligence, and Alyssa Smith-D’Cruz senior marketing manager, in the post. “Rather, our insights point to shopping behaviors on pace with pre-pandemic times.”
Halloween candy spending is expected to reach $3.6 billion, according to the National Retail Federation, an increase from 2022’s $3.1 billion last year. In keeping with the trend of price-sensitive consumers, however, Moore and Smith-D’Cruz note that those who intend to purchase candy for trick-or-treaters are holding off to see what deals come through.
This price sensitivity is expected to continue throughout the fourth-quarter holiday season, with value serving as the No. 1 consideration for consumers, according to Elizabeth Lafontaine, chief retail analyst at EnsembleIQ. As a result, retailers will shift their promotional strategies from focusing on price points to instead “percentage-off” methods to lure spending.
“Retailers are not happy with the prices they are able to give consumers right now,” said Lafontaine in a webinar with Store Brands, a CGT sister publication. “They don’t feel like [the prices] are compelling enough. They are trying to train the consumer to think about percentage off versus the amazing doorbuster prices they would get in the past.”
Consumer Insights
Hershey frequently taps into consumer insights to inform its manufacturing decisions. Last year, the company experimented with using both quantitative and qualitative insights to adjust its price pack architecture, another lever to pull in wooing cautious consumers.
These tactics have not only reduced churn but also bolstered retail relationships when it communicates these findings, the company told CGT last year.
“We find starting with consumer needs leads to more successful launches — product or packaging,” said Lynn Hemans, VP of consumer intelligence and analytics, at the time.
