23% Fewer Households Buying Cold, Cough, & Flu Products vs. Pre-Pandemic; Hand Wipes Sales Down 68% After 210% Growth in 2020
CHICAGO, December 2, 2021 — Numerator, a data and tech company serving the North American market research space, has launched a Canadian Cold Weather Tracker to monitor Canadian consumer buying behaviour in popular cold weather categories including Cold, Cough & Flu; Pain Relievers; Hand Wipes; Facial Moisturizers; Hand & Body Lotions; Tea; and Stocks & Broths. The tracker is updated weekly to analyze Canadian purchase behaviour throughout the winter season.
Key Cold, Cough & Flu findings include:
- 2021 Cold, Cough & Flu sales are up 5% compared to the 2020 fall/winter season, and down 27% compared to the same period in 2019 – the only tracked category to show sales declines in 2020 vs 2019.
- 2021 Cold, Cough & Flu household penetration is 1.4 points higher than 2020 and 8.6 points lower than 2019, possibly due to effective COVID precautions or remaining pandemic stockpiles.
- Canadians are spending $0.06 more on Cold, Cough & Flu medications overall than in 2020, indicating that a smaller segment of Canadians are purchasing more medication overall (given household penetration below 2020 levels).
Key cold weather category findings include:
- Hand Wipes saw the largest swing of any category, with massive growth in 2020 (+210% vs. 2019) due to the pandemic, followed by a significant decline in 2021 (-68% vs. 2020).
- Stocks & Broths sales are down 8% vs. year ago, declining from 26% growth in 2020 (vs 2019).
- Facial Moisturizers also experienced a wide swing, with sales down 17% in 2021, after 9% growth in 2020 (vs. 2019).
- Facial Tissues continue to over-index vs. year ago in both 2021 (+9%) and 2020 (+12%). Pain Relievers saw a similar pattern, with sales up 5% in 2021 and up 13% in 2020.
- Hand & Body Lotion sales are down 6% vs. year ago, declining from 11% growth in 2020 (vs 2019).
About Numerator
Numerator is a data and tech company bringing speed and scale to market research. Headquartered in Chicago, IL, Numerator has more than 2,600 employees worldwide. The company blends proprietary data with advanced technology to create unique insights for the market research industry that has been slow to change. The majority of Fortune 100 companies are Numerator clients.
