Retail Buyers Seek Supplier Diversity, Wellness & Innovation for Store Shelves
Supplier diversity, wellness and product discovery were top considerations among buyers in third quarter as retailers search for new ways to lure consumers amid inflationary pressures, according RangeMe’s Retail Roundup: Q3 2022. The report shines a light on the activities of U.S. and international buyers on the sourcing platform, including keywords and certification searches, collections visited, and engagement with products and brands.
Finding diverse-owned brands remains a key point of interest among buyers, with certifications such as Certified Ethnic Minority Owned and Certified Women Business Enterprise among the top searched certifications. Further, Certified Organic continues to rank among the top searches, not just among U.S. buyers, but also among international buyers, as the USDA currently has organic equivalence with a handful of countries and regions, including Japan, Korea, Taiwan and the European Union.
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Visits to RangeMe Collections reveal that buyers want product innovation, with the “Trending on RangeMe” and “Startup Brands” Collections logging the most visits. RangeMe’s Collections are curated selections of brands and products that meet set criteria typically based on trends, certifications, categories or buyer engagement. The Trending on RangeMe Collection features brands and products that are getting the most engagement from buyers, while the Startup Brands Collection offers the newest CPG brands and products.
This past quarter, the keyword “fragrance” was trending among health and beauty care buyers worldwide, along with “deodorant,” “bath salts,” “shower steamers” and “candles,” referencing the self-care trend among consumers that ramped up during the pandemic and is still going strong today. “Jute bags” was another frequently used search term, with sustainability-minded consumers increasingly choosing them over plastic bags. Additionally, pre-packaged lunch meat and meat snacks have also made a comeback as more consumers turn to budget-friendly food options in response to historic inflation, so the keyword “deli” made an expected appearance among trending search terms.
“RangeMe’s Retail Roundup provides a snapshot of what’s been on buyers’ minds over the past quarter, and where they are headed with their category planning,” noted Nicky Jackson, founder and CEO of San Francisco-based RangeMe. “With increasing prices and supply challenges worldwide, it’s clear that there is major interest in finding new and innovative products, particularly from diverse-owned and sustainability-focused brands.”
RangeMe, a leading online platform that streamlines new product discovery and purchasing between suppliers and retailers, analyzes data from more than 15,000 retail buyers and about 200,000 suppliers to report the latest retail trends.
