February 10, 2025

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Boots sees growing sales as customers benefit from ‘strategic focus on value’

Boots sees growing sales as customers benefit from ‘strategic focus on value’
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Boots has reported strong growth in its first quarter “across all categories and channels” boosted by a strong Black Friday.

The retailer posted an 8.1% year on year growth in retail sales for the three months ended 30 November today (10 January), which it credited to the growth of its loyalty scheme and a strategic focus on value.

It reported a 3.5% increase in active Advantage card members, with over 700,000 more customers joining the loyalty programme in Q1. In total, there are now over 16.9 million active members.

In its report, the company said “customers continue to respond well to Boots’ strategic focus on value”, with its Price Advantage remaining popular.

Boots’ latest campaigns utilised first-party data from the Advantage card scheme to be more targeted. The retailer revamped its loyalty proposition in early 2023, a move CMO Pete Markey called its “biggest ever” investment in price.

Markey then told Marketing Week in November last year that the heightened focus on Advantage cards links to “the relevance of personalisation”, as offers can be targeted to what shoppers buy.

Across the business, customers were seen to choose more Boots own-brand products, particularly vitamins, supplements and beauty items.

Indicative of festive success

The report comes as its parent company, Walgreen Boots Alliance, reported its sales were up by 4.5%, with “strong retail performance” by Boots UK contributing to the alliance’s international success.

Digital sales for Boots were up 23% year on year, with digital accounting for 22% of all retail sales. The Boots app has also “continued to grow at pace”, with 8.1 million active users.

Though full Christmas earnings are yet to be announced “early indications suggest a solid Christmas trading period”, according to the report, especially as the company reported “an exceptional Black Friday period”.

Sales were reported to be up 20% during Black Friday week, with the company achieving its busiest day of sales on the day itself. Almost five orders per second were placed in its busiest hour, with nearly two bottles of fragrance sold every second.

Alongside success in health, beauty and fragrance, comparable pharmacy sales were also up 10.9% across the quarter. This was driven by continued strong performance in services including flu, COVID-19 and travel vaccinations, alongside Boots Online Doctor and NHS Pharmacy First consultations.

Heading into the next quarter, the company expects to see continued cost pressures, but believes there is room for optimism.

“We are relentlessly focused on our transformation journey and have more exciting plans ahead to further enhance the experience for our customers,” says Boots UK and Ireland managing director, Anthony Hemmerdinger.

“Looking forward, we face heightened cost pressures in 2025 following the Autumn budget, however with positive momentum behind us and a clear plan in place, the business is focused on navigating these and continuing to deliver long-term, sustainable growth,” he adds.

Beauty partnerships

In-store sales for flagship stores and travel stores also performed “particularly well” as the company invested in store refurbishment, with 30 stores refreshed over the quarter, including Birmingham Bullring and Manchester Trafford Centre.

Boots reported “positive momentum” in its results for the quarter prior, as fourth quarter retail sales grew 6.2% year-on-year, contributing to a 6.9% sales uplift for the full year ended 31 August.

At the time, analysts called for greater investment into marketing, specifically for influencer and social media marketing in beauty to compete with competitors, such as Sephora.

This quarter, beauty products continued to perform well, with sales up 11% year on year for the quarter as Boots expanded its partnerships to stock over 20 new brands, including Neom Wellbeing and Aveda.

Boots had a brand and product focus in its Christmas 2024 campaign centred around Mrs Claus’ ‘Werkshop’, which was designed to support the retailer’s launch of over 40 new seasonal gifting brands.

Markey said it was a moment to “show Boots as the home for both new beauty and the brands people love”.

Through the Christmas campaign, the company tried a marketing mix containing 65% new tactics, including gaming and a heightened creator focus. In its last three Christmas campaigns, excluding 2024, Boots has seen a return of more than £4 on every pound spent.


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