• Revenue in large cities decreases by between 20 and 40% in summertime, a percentage made up for in full by the increase seen in summer resort locations

• After Christmas, summer is the second sales “peak” of the year

• Non-food products make up 40% of sales in large distribution

The sector of large food distribution is seeing significant changes in consumer habits during the summertime. Far from meaning a decrease in revenue for the sector’s principal companies, summer represents the second sales “peak” after Christmas, which on average brings in 30% of annual sales. The leading companies in large distribution know that the population migrations inherent to summer vacations pose a planning and management challenge, which is why they must perfectly plan the impact of the “calendar effect” on their budgets.

On all of the Spanish coast, but especially in Andalusia, the East Coast, and the Islands, there is a striking increase in hypermarket and supermarket sales. According to internal studies at the Distribution Division of Daemon Quest, the only Spanish firm that specializes in Customer Intelligence, sales on the coast are three times higher during the summertime (counting the entirety of the months of July, August, and September).

However, this incredibly strong increase experienced by large supermarkets on the coast does not imply a similar decrease for hypermarkets and supermarkets in large cities. In fact, in important urban areas such as Madrid and Barcelona, sales decrease by an average of 20 to 40%. The progressive increase in summer vacations and the growing tourism in cities – as much domestic as foreign -, basically explains why the decrease in sales in large cities is not proportional to the increase in revenues on the coast.

The beginning of the increase in sales seen by the hypermarkets and supermarkets on the Spanish coast depends in large part on the “Easter Week Effect”. Oddly enough, the later Easter Week falls (mid to late April), the more this period causes a sustained and constant increase in summer, creating a long sales chart. If Easter Week falls late in the month, Spanish and foreign retirees and pensioners take the opportunity to move to the coast and link their stay to summer vacation. On the other hand, when Easter Week comes early (mid to late March), large supermarkets on the coast see a sales peak during this period, which then decreases noticeably in the months of April and May, only to begin recovering in June.

The first half of August: the most critical one

In any case, the climax of sales in summertime is always in the first half of August, with special emphasis on the first week: Daemon Quest calculates that sales from August 1st to 5th alone triple those registered from the 5th to the 12th of the same month. The so-called “bulk purchases” occur in this first week. These are the purchases in which the consumer acquires – usually in large quantities – all the basic products necessary for their vacation. Afterwards, for this consumer profile, the “repeat purchase” occurs, which consists of replacing or completing the depleted products after the first large purchase of the month, naturally with a smaller average purchase price.

In terms of products, all sales of liquids, desserts, ice creams, salads, and fruits and vegetables shoot up in summertime, followed by diet and “healthy” products, a new trend that has only increased in recent years. Revenue for fresh products remains largely stable, although there is a certain change in meat consumption, to the benefit of fish and fruits.

One relatively new trend is the rise in consumption of non-food products. In summer, this means a moderate increase in sales of air-conditioning units and other household air-conditioning products, basic home furnishings for rented housing, garden furniture and tools, etc. According to Daemon Quest information, up to 40% of current hypermarket sales do not come from food products.

Summertime requires the large distribution sector to make a great effort in planning, provision, and ability to react. The selection varies enormously (ice creams, liquids, and other typical summer products are all important), and therefore product placement is changed accordingly, causing sweeping changes in supermarket aisles and modules. Certain costal supermarkets and hypermarkets also implement “tourist selections”, geared especially towards the spending habits of foreigners, especially those from Great Britain and Germany. On average, large costal supermarkets can modify up to 10% of their space in order to adopt their selection to summertime needs.