Health and lifestyle needs are leading growth areas

According to research conducted by NielsenIQ and the Food Marketer’s Institute (FMI), online sales during the first 5 months of 2021 have already surpassed sales for the entirety of 2020 by 34%. This demonstrates that both e-commerce newbies and veterans are continuing their heavy cadence of online shopping.

As consumers from all demographics became more familiar with online shopping in 2020, their searches also became increasingly purposeful. Consumers are becoming more informed and motivated to purchase products with specific attributes that meet their health or lifestyle needs (think of common search terms like ketogenic, heart-healthy, biodegradable, and recyclable). 

In a clearly related projection, the health and wellness segment is projected to accelerate from $175 billion in sales today to $203 billion in sales by 2023. However, 95% of consumer goods products that qualify for the most frequently searched product attributes do not appear in search results, meaning retailers and manufacturers are potentially missing out on millions of dollars. 

This online growth and demand for specific product attributes represent a multi-billion dollar growth opportunity. Manufacturers and retailers can win with these trends by improving existing product discoverability with deeper product attribute knowledge and by getting ahead of the latest trends in the marketplace by measuring the attributes that are resonating with consumers.