Consumables Are the Recipe for Year-Round Sales
by Stephanie S.
Ivystone Marketing Manager
Food. Candles. Home care. Bath and body. If there's one category quietly keeping your store busy every single month of the year — not just during the big gifting windows — it's this one.
Here's the thing about consumables: your customers use them up. A candle burns down. A jar of jam gets finished off. A hand cream runs dry right when the weather turns dry too. That's not a downside — it's the whole point. Every empty jar or burned-down wick is a quiet invitation for that shopper to come find you again.
Thymes
Why This Category Is Cooking Right Now
According to the National Retail Federation, retail sales are on track to grow around 4.4% in 2026, with household spending holding up well heading into the holidays. Shoppers are splitting their attention between in-store and online more than ever too — so however you're promoting consumables, it's worth showing up in both places, not just one.
And when the big holiday weekend hits, people actually show up for it. NRF reported over 200 million shoppers turned out between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday last year alone. Food, gifting, and entertaining products are consistently what they're there to buy.
Food: The Category That Fills a Store
Nothing pulls shoppers through the door quite like food — especially once fall entertaining season kicks in. Stock a mix of gourmet, giftable, versatile items, and you're giving customers everything they need to host, share, and celebrate without ever leaving your store.
PRO TIP: Here's where the real lift happens: cross-merchandising. Pair snacks with serving boards, sauces with the dishes they're made for, coffee with mugs and pastries. It's a small styling move, but it consistently turns a single-item purchase into a bigger basket.
Finch + Fennel
MERCHANDISING MOMENT: A jar of fruit preserves or gourmet jam works just as well styled into a breakfast display next to scone mix and coffee as it does bundled into a holiday gift basket, it's an easy entry point for shoppers who want something small and giftable without committing to a big-ticket item.
The Categories Doing the Work All Year
Food gets the spotlight in Q4, but these three carry your store the other eleven months:
Candles: The Scent-Sation That Keeps Selling
They sell atmosphere as much as product. Rotate seasonal scents and fresh vessel designs, and your display never gets the chance to go stale.
Capri Blue
MERCHANDISING MOMENT: A bestselling seasonal scent is a great anchor for an entryway or checkout display — an instantly recognizable candle that customers already seek out makes for an easy impulse add near the register.
Home Care: The Practical Repeat Buy
Cleaning products, kitchen tools, and the like get replenished almost on autopilot. They're dependable repeat sales, and they pair naturally with entertaining-themed displays.
L'Avant Collective
MERCHANDISING MOMENT: A stylish all-purpose cleaner or hand soap styles well in a "hostess prep" display alongside kitchen linens and serveware, practical, but elevated enough to feel gift-worthy on its own.
Bath & Body: The Category Customers Treat Themselves To
Lotions, soaps, and wellness items sit at a price point that's just as easy to justify as a personal treat as it is a gift. That's exactly what keeps customers coming back to restock their go-tos.
Glasshouse Fragrances
MERCHANDISING MOMENT: A seasonal hand cream or bar soap is a natural fit for a self-care gift table or stocking-stuffer display during the holidays. Small, giftable, and easy to bundle with a matching candle or diffuser for a bigger basket.
Displays That Do the Talking
Treat your consumables section like its own mini-department. Height, backdrop, layered textures, these are the details that stop a shopper mid-aisle. Rotate seasonal product, call out gift-ready bundles, and group complementary items together. A few pairings that never miss:
- Baking mixes styled with festive utensils and aprons
- Cocktail mixes paired with barware and napkins
- Candles staged alongside home décor accents
PRO TIP: Ask your rep about cross-brand bundling — pairing complementary products from different vendors into one gift-ready display often costs you nothing extra and gives customers a reason to add more to their basket.
Serve Up a Reason to Stick Around
A great display gets people to stop. What keeps them there, and gets them to come back, is what happens next. In-store tastings, live demos, and holiday-themed events give customers something to linger over and something to talk about later. Sharing recipes, gifting ideas, and entertaining tips does double duty: it shows off your product and gives shoppers one more reason to swing back before the season's over.
Get more fall & holiday event ideas
Consumables Keep Customers Coming Back
At the end of the day, consumables aren't just products on a shelf — they're the everyday indulgences, thoughtful gifts, and small rituals that keep giving your customers a reason to return. Food carries Q4, but candles, home care, and bath and body keep your store humming the rest of the year. Curate with intention, merchandise with purpose, and promote proactively, and this category becomes one of the most reliable performers your business has.
