For a better sales performance of discount stores

Discount stores play an increasingly significant role in sales: their market share from food sales grew 2 percentage points to 20 percent in the December 2011-July 2012 period, while discounters’ share in household chemical and cosmetics sales also upped 2 percentage points and was at 12 percent. If we analyse the basket content in discount stores (based on category buying frequency and basket value), we can see that most shoppers buy groceries for shopping and those baskets come next which mostly contain food for breakfast and to be consumed between meals. Another group of baskets is dominated by detergents and other household chemicals. In a separate group of baskets we find all types of goods and there is one with a couple of special products that are only occasionally important for customers. This type of analysis by Nielsen makes it possible to optimise the product assortment of discount stores. There is a growing number of discount stores in Hungary, this year seven new units opened and currently there are 495. In terms of value sales, discounters are overrepresented in the ice cream (33 percent), chocolate bar (27), cooking oil (26), mineral water (25) and cheese (23) categories. The flipside of the coin: they are underrepresented in the value sales of countline chocolate, carbonated soft drinks and energy drinks – in these categories independent small shops’ share is between 17 and 19 percent.