Trend Mill
Despite a Rise in ‘Mask Breath,’ Chewing Gum Sales Have Come Unstuck
The pandemic has hit checkout-aisle impulse purchases hard
Do you need to worry about how fresh your breath is when you’re at a distance from everyone around you and wearing a mouth-covering mask?
The answer is, no, you don’t. As the Hershey Company, one of the major players in the gum market, elegantly put it, “The functional need for breath freshening continues to be impacted by social distancing.”
The pandemic has seen many business winners. But for so-called “impulse products” like chewing gum, that rely on consumer impulse and well-positioned sale points, it has been a sticky period. These products sell best when targeting people at till points and queues, both of which have been almost nonexistent worldwide as customers have moved online. David Nolen, vice president of shopper insights at Hershey, believes the pandemic has sped up the permanent move to online by 3–5 years. Grocery shopping online is up by over 61%. That’s bad news for sellers of these products because impulse buying is more effective with increased customer friction and dwell time in carefully controlled shopping environments.
