Potatoes at Retail: Summary of reporting from the week ending on May 22, 2020

Potatoes at Retail: Summary of reporting from the week ending on May 22, 2020

Sales at Retail May 4 – May 10, 2020

Retail produce sales continued to increase for the week ending on May 10, 2020. Vegetables outpaced fruit sales growth for the 11th week in a row.

 

Graph 1

 

Potatoes remained the number one item in dollar sales percentage growth in the fresh vegetable category.

Trends

Health

  • IRI found 23% of consumers are eating more plant-based meals.
  • Outside of essential goods, IRI reported consumers have spent 21% more on housing maintenance.
  • IRI is reporting an increase in products focused on the following. This is new compared to other trends throughout the pandemic.
    - Multi-functional beverages
    - Protein to go
    - Premium self-care
    - Better snacking options
    - Simple and transparent ingredients
  • Online sales for fitness equipment are up by 55%.
  • Gardening supplies, including flowers, herbs, and seeds are up six times compared to a year ago and a 75% increase since the pandemic started.

Empathy

  • Consumers continue focusing on the supply chain and the people bringing items to their store.
  • Farmworkers are a topic of discussion and are bringing more light to the produce department in retail.

 

Listen to NPR's Podcast about coronavirus, farmworkers, and America's food supply (9 mins)

 

  • IRI found that two in five consumers will boycott businesses who did not act responsibly during this time.

Grocery Store Perimeter

  • Meat sales continue to be number one in dollar and volume sales growth. Meat sales are up 41% for 52 weeks compared to the year prior.
  • Sales of meat are up across every type in the department, and sale shares are more evenly distributed.
    - Ground beef saw extreme growth in household penetration going from 42% prior to March and 49% now.
  • Plant-based meats or meat alternatives have increased in dollar and volume sales since the beginning of the pandemic, while market share of total sales in meat remains relatively the same.
  • Twenty percent of shoppers are reporting organic to be important when fresh food shopping. This includes meat and produce.
  • Potatoes saw growth in dollar sales by 41% and volume sales by 27% for the week ending on May 10 and a 10.8% increase in price.
  • Fresh cut salads have seen significant increases in dollar sales since the beginning of March.

Center Store

  • Consumers continue to make bread. Yeast sales are up 647% compared to a year ago.
  • When frozen foods are in the basket, consumers are spending more than $10 more per trip than if any other product is in the basket, according to IRI.
  • Frozen produce sales increased by 39% for the week ending on May 10.
  • While fresh vegetables are gaining faster in produce, fruit is outpacing vegetable growth in the frozen category.
    - Frozen vegetables grew by 37% in dollar sales.

Online

  • Online sales continue to increase for fresh food.
  • Dollar sales of fresh food are mainly driven by store pick-up, followed by delivery.
  • Home shipments or direct to consumer type fresh shipments grew towards the end of March and decreased in share of e-commerce sales by the week of April 12, 2020.

 

Graph 2

 

  • Retailers are revamping online marketing strategies to work with entire categories as opposed to specific products.

Total Store

  • The increased sales of cooking utensils on Amazon showed consumers did not even own the equipment to cook prior to March.
    - Consumers were purchasing things such as plates, utensils, and bowls immediately following the panic buying phase.
  • Circular distribution rates and cuts in the size of them are causing some newspapers to go out of business.
  • Meat departments are the heaviest investors in retail circulars. Due to the demand for meat being high and the supply chain struggling, dollars are currently not being invested in this category.
  • Trends across the store in terms of growth and dollars spent have stayed consistent for three weeks, indicating we may be seeing normal buying patterns.
  • Flavor is driving consumer choices, followed by price and health-focused items.
  • In a study executed by Frieda’s Specialty Produce, they found the following sentiments in consumers:
    - Fifty-five percent of consumers are less excited about summer.
    - Consumers are planning micro-escapes either at or near home for the summer months.
    - Specialty items in the grocery store will be used to create these away from home experiences, such as tropical fruits for an island adventure.

 

PMA Produce Report – May 10, 2020

 

For more information, reach out to retail@potatoesusa.com.