Summer has arrived and according to the May Circana survey of 1,000+ primary grocery shoppers, travel may look different this year. “While 20 percent of consumers expect they will travel a bit more than in the summer of 2022, inflationary pressures are challenging the travel plans of others,” said Jonna Parker, team lead, fresh for Circana (formerly IRI).
Other findings include:
- 67 percent of consumers are planning cookouts/barbeque gatherings.
- Two-thirds of shoppers plan to grill as much as (50 percent) or more (19 percent) than last summer. “For fresh produce, summer means a focus on seasonal items and local sourcing — two attributes to drive an unplanned purchase,” said Joe Watson, IFPA’s VP, retail, foodservice and wholesale.
- 21 percent of consumers plan to watch sports with friends
- 18 percent of shoppers plan to organize pool parties, weather permitting.
Circana, 210 Analytics and the International Fresh Produce Association team up to document the impact on sales patterns in fresh produce.
Fresh produce prices were flat in May 2023 compared to May 2022. Fresh fruit prices decreased 2.2 percent (compared to May 2022) while vegetable inflation averaged 2.5 percent.
May 2023 fresh produce sales reached $6.1 billion.
Weekly fresh produce sales averaged between $1.48 billion-$1.59 billion. “The impact of Memorial Day on weekly sales compared to a non-holiday week shows that celebrations are an important reason to splurge a little,” Parker said. 
“Six out of the top 10 fruit sellers sold more pounds in May 2023 than May 2022,” Parker said. “Berries continued to be a powerhouse.” Other items with increased volume sales were melons, avocados, mandarins, oranges and pineapples.
Items with increased dollar sales in May 2023 compared with last year were berries, melons, bananas, mandarins and pineapples. “Cherry sales fell just outside of the top 10 in May,” Watson added. “I expect cherries to be a top 10, if not top five, sales contender in the June and July reports.”
“The dollar and pound performance among the top 10 vegetable sellers was all over the board,” Watson said. “Four items increased pound sales--tomatoes, onions, peppers and cucumbers. With the help of inflation, six out of the 10 top vegetable sellers grew dollar sales, led by potatoes and lettuce.
The dual power of value versus convenience can be seen in sales for lettuce and salad kits, the number three and four sellers.
Berries were the biggest contributor to new produce dollars, followed by potatoes and lettuce. Gains were driven by a combination of increased pounds and inflation for items such as mandarins and melons, whereas others benefited from higher prices in May 2023 versus May 2022.
The next report, covering June, will be released in mid-July.
Please click here to see the full report.
For more information:
Anne-Marie Roerink
210 Analytics LLC
Tel: +1 (210) 651-2719
[email protected]
www.210analytics.com
