2019 BEST PRACTICES AWARDS

WHEN SMALLER MEANS MORE

The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board ( PLCB ) took home the 2019 Best Practices Award for Best Retail Innovation as part of its efforts to meet this increasing consumer demand by expanding

by MAURA KELLER merchandising of small-size products . According to Dale Horst , PLCB director of marketing and merchandising , sales of wine and spirits in smaller-sized containers and alternative-packaging formats fill this need . These include 50-ml . -to-375 ml . sized bottles , cans and multipacks for spirits , plus cans , multipacks , Tetra Paks and other formats up to 651-ml . for wine . They also offer PLCB ’ s Fine Wine & Good Spirits stores a major opportunity for growth .

In the last fiscal year , the PLCB tripled the number of spirits items it carried in cans , and grew its canned wine offerings by 119 %. This resulted in a 63.2 % increase in wine and spirits can sales from fiscal year 2017-18 to 2018-19 , and a 59.7 % increase in unit sales .

“ Across small-size wine and spirits categories , cans have exhibited the highest degree of growth ,” Horst says . “ Canned products also are highly appealing to consumers , because they offer a great deal of flexibility in terms of lifestyle , convenience factors and personal taste .”

Single-use consumable containers are lighter , more durable and easier to transport than full-size glass counterparts . They also offer portion control and bypass storage issues and waste , and allow purchasers to engage with a broader range of products on a smaller , more affordable scale .

“ Contrary to past perceptions , customers are tuned in to the fact that today ’ s alternatively packaged products offer high quality and good taste ,” Horst says , “ and for this reason are more open to embracing alternatively packaged products like canned wine , spirits and mixed cocktails .”

Horst and his team at PLCB recognize that visibility , access and selection are key for consumers . In fact , the addition of small-size shelf sets in Fine Wine & Good Spirits stores allows for the merchandising of small-size products in their own dedicated , highly browsable and self-service sections .

“ Comprised of varying sized racks , counter displays and other formats , these new displays allow shoppers to easily locate and interact with products prior to purchase and , as a result , have garnered a highly favorable response ,” Horst says .

To accommodate the growing demand for small-size products , Fine Wine & Good Spirits continues to expand its small-size product merchandising efforts through increases to the number of stores featuring small-size shelf sets , and also the exploration of new merchandising strategies in the form of test pilots aimed at positively engaging consumers .

In 2018-19 , Fine Wine & Good Spirits conducted a series of pilots for small-size spirits that included :

A single-store pilot of a “ grab bin ” featuring an assortment of 50-ml . spirits located at the checkout area .

A three-store test of six-foot shelving displays featuring 63 different 50-ml . single-serve bottles and multipacks .

A four-store pilot of four-foot shelving displays for 50-ml . multipacks , with each shelving display featuring 63 different multipacks .

These pilots proved successful . Sales for non-multipack small sizes increased 33.7 % in stores with the new focus on small-size merchandising .

Additionally , stores with small-size shelf sets saw an 11.6 % increase in sales of standard 750-ml . bottles as compared to stores without the sets . The first “ grab bin ” pilot featuring small-size spirits yielded a 28 % increase in dollar sales , and a 21 % increase in unit sales for 50-ml . spirits , as compared to the same time period the previous year for the pilot store .

Dollar sales of spirits in small sizes ( less than 375-ml ., plus multipacks ) totaled $ 112.1 million in the most recently completed fiscal year , a 16 % increase over 2017-18 , while unit sales increased 38.7 %.

“ In line with consumers ’ desire for small-size wine products in an array of alternative packaging formats , Fine Wine & God Spirits continues to expand existing shelving display units in stores as space permits ,” Horst says , “ from four-foot up to 12-foot sections to allow for an increased selection of small-size wine products including cans , multipacks and Tetra Paks .”

Unit sales of smaller wine packages grew 14.7 % in fiscal year 2018 – 19 , while dollar sales grew 15.6 %.

Currently , 96 Fine Wine & Good Spirits stores feature some

16 StateWays | www . stateways . com | September / October 2019