Private label home goods category continue to grow as pandemic remains
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to more people staying at home in the past two years, which has increased the reliance on the home goods category, according to speakers at the Store Brands Industry Forum on Nonfood Innovation.
Heather Corkery, senior director of store brands at CVS, and Carlos Castelan, founder and managing director of The Navio Group, discussed the growing category at the Jan. 19 event.
The event, hosted by former Store Brands executive editor Dan Ochwat, featured speakers from across the private brand space to discuss nonfood innovation in categories such as pet, sanitization, home goods and wellness, along with an e-commerce segment to begin the event.
The full forum can be viewed on-demand here.
Corkery said that given the public’s reliance on pharmacy retailers like CVS for pandemic and health related needs, shoppers have begun to consolidate their trips and venture into the household category while shopping.
“As a drug store, we’re seeing consumers recognizing us for the role we’re playing in testing and vaccinating during the pandemic,” said Corkery. “We are seeing an appreciation for our role as a health and wellness destination. With that, we’ve seen a lot of trip consolidation across the board. People don’t want to make as many stops as they used to, so we’ve seen more trips to more convenient categories in our format like household and grocery.”
“We’ve seen trip consolidation, higher basket sizes, and as consumers have been home more, we’ve seen the home goods business overall has taken off,” said Castelan, whose company, The Navio Group, works with retailers to expand operations, such as e-commerce. “What we’ve seen is continued growth in home goods, and now I think the questions are around supply chain and being able to deliver for customers who want furniture or other products that are backordered.”
Castelan added that the home goods category is ripe for expansion as the pandemic continues.
“There’s been a shift to home decor over the last couple of years as the home has become the center for many families,” he said. “You see these companies looking to provide for customers, and maybe historically they have not. Home decor means so many different things to people. It could mean something for their desk or a new throw pillow, so you can find a variety of price points so it can work for dollar stores all the way up to high-end retailers."