Battery Trends Powering Innovation

 

In today’s digitally powered world, battery life implies convenience for the consumer. For rechargeable batteries (e.g. lithium-ion) in cell phones and laptops and electric and hybrid vehicles, the battery life translates to how frequently the consumer needs to recharge. For these items that we depend on every-day for work, communication and transportation, battery life can be key purchasing criteria. For disposable batteries in flashlights, for example, battery power and life translates to device functionality (e.g. brightness of light) and frequency of battery replacement.
The battery industry, including disposable alkaline batteries, is growing. Alkaline Battery Market research report forecasts the global alkaline battery market will generate more than USD 9 billion in the 2018-2022 5-year period. Despite the evolution of electronics over the past decades (e.g. replacement of portable stereos with ipods and iphones), we still depend on disposable batteries to power a lot of our everyday essential electronics: computer mice, remote controls, electronic toys, and smoke detectors. While Consumer Reports (2017) recommends certain lithium batteries for “power-hungry” high-tech devices (like cameras), alkaline are still the go-to economical option for many basic items like flashlights and remote controls.
Supermarkets are responding to the growth of the battery category by allocating more space, more variety and more private label at competitive retails. Simply Done (private label) multipacks offer a particularly great value for shoppers and valuable sales for supermarkets.
Growing private label battery options are adding competition to the alkaline battery market. In addition to supermarket private label, drugstores like Rite Aid, Walgreens, and CVS also offer their own brand of disposable batteries. Amazon’s private label AmazonBasics Performance batteries now represent a newer key competitor gaining market share from category leaders like Duracell and Energizer.
As always, competition calls for innovation, and legacy battery brands are answering. Duracell’s new line of Optimum AA and AAA alkaline batteries features a new cathode system that can provide “extra life” and “extra power.” Duracell Optimum also include new innovative packaging for easier battery access and storage to provide additional convenience for the consumer.
As retail channels evolve and introduce new product competition, continued innovation by national (and supermarket private label) battery brands is keeping the growth of the battery category healthy in supermarkets.