Budweiser Brewing Group, which owns some of the UK’s best-loved beers including Budweiser, Stella Artois and Corona, is demonstrating strong support for the convenience channel by dispatching a field sales team to individually visit convenience stores around the UK. Rather than relying solely on modern methods, the company has gone back to basics and adopted a more personalised approach to work in tandem with customers.
In 2021, Budweiser launched a trial with a small field sales team with a specialist field marketing agency, McCurrach, visiting various convenience stores across the UK. The team provided valuable insights into local product performance and emphasised inventory management strategies.
Building on the success of this trial, Budweiser Brewing Group has further intensified its commitment to the convenience sector by continuing to expand the team with sales experts who all specialise in their own region of the UK. This growing team has homed in on a core range that has demonstrated exceptional sales performance across convenience stores – this year alone a variety of Budweiser Brewing Group’s SKUs have risen from 8.6 to 11.7 – showing a real opportunity for customers to drive sales around key SKUs.
To enhance its understanding of the market, Budweiser Brewing Group has invested in buying insights data to gain valuable knowledge on what works best in this retail segment, per region. Having seen huge success by taking a regional approach in 2023, the brewer is continuing to broaden its research to encompass a consumer classification view, effectively segmenting the UK by postcode. This regional breakdown highlights exactly what product is working well in certain areas, so retailers can match the needs of the shopper.
By integrating this approach with the valuable insights data acquired this year, alongside the information gathered by its field sales team, Budweiser Brewing Group aims to tailor its product range and deliver an exceptionally personalised experience to each individual store and its shoppers.
From a category point of view, retailers need to recognise that they have different shoppers with different needs and occasions. By listing more of a variety of SKUs (our Core range) they can sell more products which in turn increases sales to a wholesaler too increasing value in the chain.
“We quickly realised how effective a more personalised approach was in the convenience sector,” says Sunny Mirpuri, sales director for convenience and wholesale at Budweiser Brewing Group. “This has allowed us to work with customers and be much more targeted to their consumers. We’re looking to grow the team even further in are excited to continue building on our offerings that meet the needs of our customers. The success of our field team approach has gone from strength to strength since launching in 2021, with the team growing every year since.”
“Budweiser’s commitment to supporting their customers in the right way, has been evident from the outset,” says Helen Sheridan, client director for McCurrach UK Ltd. “Since the team was formed, we’ve continuously evolved our strategy with Budweiser, as we acquire a more informed understanding of this channel and its unique needs. Unlocking the insight and data from our approach has been the key to a smarter and more targeted proposition. The shared commitment to agility and responsiveness in this dynamic retail landscape forms the foundation of our successful collaboration. We’re really excited to partner with Budweiser and contribute to the delivery of their plans for the year to come.”
In addition, next year, the brewer is set to launch a loyalty programme for convenience store partners. The programme incentivises stores to stock and maintain an array of Budweiser Brewing Group’s brands by offering cashback rewards to customers. It also ensures the availability of best-selling products, allowing consumers to purchase their most loved brands. The programme is tiered, with rankings from bronze to gold based on the quantity of products and SKUs stocked. The Gold tier programme will allow stores to attain an array of data that gives continuous updates on what product to sell and when, which is targeted to their area. Moreover, participating stores will have the chance to win tickets to events throughout the year.
