Retailers embrace ‘New General Market’

This past year goes into the books as the year drug and discount retailers fully embraced the concept of the New General Market. Realizing consumers think and shop differently — especially multicultural and millennial shoppers — retailers revamped signage and selections to meet these new demands.

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By doing so, they gained a competitive edge against department and specialty stores who have been slower to do so, according to industry expert Allan Mottus.



The beauty department arguably is the biggest category getting overhauled, especially hair and skin care. Research suggests women shop for beauty by needs rather than ethnicity. Validation of that point comes from a May 2015 report from Sundial revealing that more than 50% of women select products for skin or hair types, or beauty need. Only 7% indicated they selected products based on race.

Compounding that is the blending of America. “Moms walk into my salon with offspring hair they don’t know how to care for, such as an Asian mom with straight hair who didn’t know how to care for her daughter’s curls she inherited from her Jewish dad,” explained Cozy Fried man, who owns kid-friendly salons in Manhattan and has launched a line of hair care for kids.



As part of this movement, signage is being changed in stores, eliminating such terms as “ethnic hair care,” which were the norm for the past 30 years. In non-beauty categories, delineation between boys and girls is being eliminated. With the use of social media, retailers said they could direct messages to specific market segments, but allow them to shop how they want in stores.



“Women with thick, curly hair aren’t limited to one race,” said Richelieu Dennis, founder and CEO of Sundial Brands, adding that almost 100 million women in the United States alone claim to have textured hair. Dennis defined the New General Market as “an amalgamation of cultures, ethnicities and demographics aligned against commonalities, need states and lifestyles.”



A similar situation exists in skin care. While skin lighteners or products to address hyper-pigmentation often are thought of as purchase by black consumers, the reality is these situations exist among all women, said a buyer for a major drug chain.