4 Essential Insights from Netrush’s Spring 2023 VMS Report
Netrush recently released its Spring 2023 Vitamins, Minerals & Supplements (VMS) report—Insights & Best Practices for the VMS Brandrunner—which includes expert perspective and category data aimed at helping VMS brands on Amazon build better growth strategies.
The report covers the top five topics for VMS Brandrunners today, as well as VMS subcategory-level and consumer search data from Netrush 360, Netrush’s powerful commerce intelligence engine.
Read on for four key insights from the report, and then download the report (through the form-fill at the bottom of this post) to get full access to Netrush’s latest data and findings.
1 - BRANDS ARE MANAGING GROWTH AND MARGIN CHALLENGES BY PAIRING CUSTOMER ACQUISITION EFFORTS WITH CUSTOMER LOYALTY PLAYS
Brands are finding growth much harder to come by as the industry comes down from pandemic-driven, record-level growth, and as consumers find themselves in a recessionary environment.
While feedback from Netrush’s Brandrunner community suggests Amazon is a clear outperformer relative to the brick-and-mortar channel, Brandrunners are still having to work harder and be smarter to achieve their growth goals on Amazon compared to prior years.
These growth challenges and inflationary pressures across the business are resulting in significant margin pressures, as well. So, even though brands are looking for growth wherever they can find it, they’re seeking to achieve that growth in a cost-effective way.
Netrush believes a closer look at the customer—and tying customer acquisition costs (CAC) to customer lifetime value (CLV)—is a great way to manage a cost-pressured environment now while still achieving long-term, sustainable growth.
NETRUSH RECOMMENDATION: Develop a more polished customer-centric approach through any/all of the following initiatives:
Audit your advertising spend against CLV and increase spend if: CLV x (Margin - Advertising $) > Incremental Advertising Cost of Sales $
Find new growth by maximizing CLV of existing, loyal customers
Proactively set up the second purchase and beyond, even before acquiring the new customer
new-to-brand growth strategies to acquire the right new customers (i.e., those who are likely to be loyal and high-value)
See these recommendations in action in the full report as Netrush shares successful strategies deployed alongside brand partner Natural Factors.
2 - SUBCATEGORY SHARE CONTINUES TO SHIFT
The report shares a breakdown of VMS on Amazon by subcategory this past quarter (see visual on the right), as well as how subcategory share has shifted over time.
For example, Netrush’s data shows the Probiotics subcategory falling to No. 7—a three-spot drop compared to Fall 2022—driven by flat-to-declining growth trends compared to much stronger growth in many other categories.
Download the full report to see what other VMS categories are in the top 10.
The report also includes detail on three of the fastest-growing and slowest-growing categories, including Probiotics.
3 - MAGNESIUM GLYCINATE THE TOP VMS SEARCH TERM IN Q1
Netrush keeps a close eye on Amazon consumer search data to understand how shopper needs and intent are shifting in the VMS category in real time.
Here (right), Netrush shares the top 10 VMS consumer searches in Q1 2023, with Magnesium Glycinate leading the way, showing year-over-year and quarter-over-quarter growth.
The full report includes the top 40 searches, as well as detail on where Netrush sees revenue growth potential based on consumer search trends.
4 - THERE’S A GUIDE FOR HANDLING FDA STATEMENTS ON AMAZON LISTINGS
As a company that works with VMS brands on creative, Netrush knows how important it is to follow FDA rules and use its statements properly. But ecommerce has its differences from other assets such as packaging, websites, and sell sheets. In the report, Netrush’s content experts share “do’s and don’ts” for Amazon specifically when it comes to the use of asterisks and FDA statements. The full list is available in the report, but here’s a quick sampling:
DO: Avoid asterisks on every claim in a listing; the FDA statement in the “Important Info” section applies to the entire PDP
DON’T: Overstate the FDA disclaimer more than the standard two places on a listing
WHY YOU NEED TO DOWNLOAD THE FULL VMS REPORT
The report includes a plethora of valuable insights not highlighted above, such as:
Detail around industry growth trends, margin pressures, and how Brandrunners are managing
Tangible examples of how one of Netrush’s brand partners is growing sales from new-to-brand and existing customers while keeping CAC manageable
The latest Amazon listing restrictions to watch out for in Health & Wellness, and tips for avoiding and managing brand health flags and listing suppressions
Full VMS subcategory breakdown
Q1 2023 data on three of the fastest-growing and slowest-growing subcategories in VMS
Full list of the top 40 VMS consumer searches on Amazon, with year-over-year and quarter-over-quarter trends
DISCLAIMER: Some of the information contained in the report is based on revenue estimates, which are based on price and rank averages over time. The methodology used in creating the report is subject to change. Neither Netrush nor any of its respective officers, directors, partners, employees, agents, or advisers warrant the accuracy, adequacy, or completeness of this information and each expressly disclaims liability for errors or omissions in the information.
ABOUT the authors of this postClaire McBride leads Research, Insights and Education for Netrush. Her entire career has been centered in the consumer and retail space, spending the last six years helping brands grow and optimize their ecommerce businesses through written research, events, share group discussions and one-on-one consulting. Prior to joining Netrush, she led the ecommerce market research division at Cleveland Research Company. Connect with Claire.
Beth Johnson is Manager of Retail Insights and currently leads Netrush’s Category Navigator, a tool within our Netrush 360 commerce intelligence engine that provides brands with Amazon market-sizing, performance metrics, and consumer behavior data at the category level. In Beth’s five-year tenure at Netrush, she has also served in a variety of research, analytics, and marketing roles. Connect with Beth.
