Retailers focused on sustainable growth already know that recurring sales depend on predictability. And few retail categories are as predictable as childcare and baby products. Diapers, wipes, hygiene items, and everyday care products are not impulse buys. They are part of a routine that repeats throughout the year, regardless of seasonality, consumer sentiment, or promotional calendars.
This purchasing behavior explains why pharmacies, supermarkets, and cash-and-carry retailers increasingly treat childcare as a strategic retail category. Beyond increasing sales volume, childcare helps ensure consistent store traffic, customer loyalty, and long-term partnerships with manufacturers.
Even in a challenging economic environment, performance indicators confirm this strength. According to IEMI data, children’s and baby apparel production grew 4% in 2024, while retail sales increased 5.5%. Demand remains steady because childcare products address needs that cannot be postponed.
Recurring Purchases and the Strategic Role of Childcare in Retail
According to Brazil’s 2022 Census, the country has approximately 18.1 million children aged 0 to 6. This population supports a light childcare market valued at BRL 1.86 billion. While birth rates are declining, spending per child is increasing and becoming more premium.
Between 2020 and 2024, the number of births in Brazil fell by more than 10%. In the state of São Paulo, the decline reached 13.79%. Despite this, the baby care and neonatal products market continues to expand. A report by Business Research Insights estimates the sector was worth BRL 14.49 billion in 2023 and is expected to reach BRL 23.57 billion by 2032, growing at an annual rate of 5.5%.
This trend reflects a structural shift in consumer behavior. Fewer children do not mean lower consumption. Instead, families are investing more in comfort, safety, well-being, and product quality. This is where childcare becomes a high-recurrence retail category, with clear repurchase cycles and low tolerance for out-of-stock situations.
Children’s Products Gain Importance in Pharmacies and Supermarkets
Pharmacies were among the first retail formats to understand that children’s products are not a secondary category. They drive frequent visits and help build long-term trust with parents and caregivers. Customers return because of necessity, not because of isolated promotions.
Supermarkets followed a similar path after identifying the direct impact on average basket size. Diapers and baby hygiene products often serve as the anchor items of a larger shopping basket, which is later completed with groceries, cleaning products, and personal care items. In this way, the children’s category helps structure the cart and increase total purchase value.
In cash-and-carry stores, the insight came from bulk purchasing behavior. Families look for volume, savings, and regular replenishment. Diapers, wipes, and hygiene products naturally align with this logic. By integrating childcare as a structured category, cash-and-carry retailers move beyond price positioning and become part of families’ monthly shopping routines.
Across all these retail formats, the conclusion is the same: children’s products are not seasonal. They sell consistently year-round, sustain traffic, and enable medium- and long-term commercial planning.
Digital Channels Accelerate Growth in the Childcare Market
E-commerce has further strengthened this trend. Online retail makes repurchasing faster, more convenient, and more predictable—especially for everyday baby care items. Over the past two years, the children’s category has been one of the fastest-growing segments in digital channels.
According to Nubimetrics, sales in the Baby Hygiene and Care category on Mercado Livre grew by more than 45% through September 2025, compared to the same period the previous year. This growth highlights a consumer who prioritizes convenience, fast delivery, and easy access to essential products.
For physical retailers, this shift represents opportunity rather than threat. Integrating brick-and-mortar stores with digital platforms and fast pickup options increases recurrence and reduces customer migration to marketplaces. Retailers that successfully build this omnichannel ecosystem gain access to valuable data, clearer repurchase cycles, and stronger customer relationships.
Strategic Pillars and What They Mean in Practice
| Strategic Pillar | What It Means in Practice |
| Lifecycle-driven assortment | Organizing products by each stage of the baby’s development increases clarity, repeat purchases, and long-term customer loyalty. |
| Availability as a priority | Out-of-stock situations in childcare accelerate channel switching and weaken trust between retailers and consumers. |
| Price elasticity within the same category | The coexistence of essential items and higher-value products expands margins without compromising product turnover. |
| Physical and digital integration | Fast replenishment, convenient pickup options, and online reordering strengthen shopping frequency and convenience. |
| Long-term partnership focus | Negotiations evolve to account for demand predictability, scale, and continuous innovation. |
Licensed Products, Point of Sale, and Added Value in Childcare Retail
Another factor reinforcing recurrence in the children’s segment is the strategic use of licensed products and more engaging point-of-sale experiences. Characters from movies, TV series, and cartoons continue to influence children and play a decisive role in family purchasing decisions.
According to Abral Licensing International, revenue from licensed products in Brazilian retail nearly doubled, rising from BRL 12 billion in 2012 to BRL 23.2 billion last year. This impact is particularly strong in the children’s segment, especially in categories such as hygiene products, accessories, toys, and everyday-use items.
When retailers successfully combine necessity with emotional appeal, product turnover accelerates. Essential items gain added value, basket size increases, and repurchase behavior is sustained over time.
A Resilient, Scalable, and Strategic Retail Category
Data from IMARC Group reinforces the long-term strength of this market. The Brazilian baby products market currently generates approximately USD 6.12 billion and is projected to reach USD 11.06 billion by 2033, with an average annual growth rate of 6.3%. This is a category that remains stable across economic cycles and maintains consistent demand year-round.
Childcare retail also allows for a broad pricing strategy, ranging from high-turnover essential items to premium accessories and higher-value products. This mix improves margins, strengthens negotiations with manufacturers, and creates space for continuous innovation at both the point of sale and across digital channels.
It is within this context that Fit Pueri Expo positions itself as a strategic environment for retail decision-makers. The event brings together manufacturers, distributors, and retailers around market data, consumer behavior insights, and proven growth models already implemented in pharmacies, supermarkets, and cash-and-carry stores. Discussions focus on purchase frequency, long-term customer relationships, and practical strategies to turn childcare recurrence into sustainable business growth.
Discover how leading retail chains are using the children’s category as a driver of recurring revenue. Join us.