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Small-format stores on the rise. Turnover and number of transactions are growing
The best day for stores of this format, both in terms of the number of customers and turnover, was Wednesday, August 14, the last day before the long weekend, while the weakest was the shopping Sunday of August 25, when larger outlets were also open.
In August, customers of small-format stores paid an average of PLN 24.89 for their purchases, which means an increase of as much as 7% compared to August 2023. The average number of packages in the basket increased by 2%, to 4, which was due to, among other things, a slight decrease in the importance of the smallest transactions concerning the purchase of 1-2 products.
Despite high temperatures, weather-sensitive categories such as impulse ice cream, water and beer recorded slight sales declines in volume terms compared to August 2023. Among the beverage categories, carbonated drinks sold better than a year ago (in August this year, customers of small-format stores bought 3% more of them than a year earlier), iced teas (an increase of 5%), as well as isotonic drinks (an increase of 20%) and functional drinks, popular among the youngest customers (an increase of 40%). In August 2024, sales of popular energy drinks, which have only been available to adult customers since the beginning of this year, fell by 2% in liter terms, but increased by 4% in value terms.
Consumer interest in products with an enriched composition, which are supposed to provide the consumer with additional benefits, is visible not only in the beverage category. High growth is also recorded, for example, in protein or energy bars (in August 2024, customers of small-format stores bought 30% more of them than a year earlier) and dairy products with increased protein content (in the category of drinking yoghurts, high-protein variants already constitute 30% of all products sold).
Compared to August 2024, sales declined for another month in a row, among others, in beers (volume drop of about 3%) and pure vodkas (drop of 6%). Flavoured vodkas fared better, selling 3% more than a year ago. Much larger sales increases could be observed in the ready-to-drink drinks category (the number of receipts with this category was 27% higher than a year ago) and ciders, but it must be remembered that their shares in the entire alcohol category are still small.
In August 2024, sales of, among others, butter, which is becoming more expensive again (the number of receipts decreased by 14% compared to August 2024), milk, flour, as well as products used, among others, to prepare preserves – sugar (a decrease of 8% in kilograms) and vinegar (a decrease of 30%), fell in small-format stores. On the other hand, customers reached for various types of ready meals and vegetable preserves more often than a year ago.
Compared to July 2024, the total turnover of small-format stores decreased by less than 1%, while the number of transactions decreased by 2%.
* Small-format stores up to 300 sq m include: small grocery stores up to 40 sq m, medium grocery stores 41-100 sq m, large grocery stores 101-300 sq m, specialist alcohol stores.