As the character Bubba eloquently put it in the popular movie Forest Gump, “Shrimp is the fruit of the sea. You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, sauté it.” The versatility of shrimp has added to its popularity among fresh seafood options at supermarkets.
Nationally, shrimp contributed 27.3% to seafood department sales during the 52 weeks ending Sept. 25, 2010. Shrimp sales included both raw and cooked, with raw accounting for 58% of total shrimp dollars per store per week.
Shrimp averaged $1,705 per week per store, remaining steady from the prior year. The highest average shrimp sales were in the East region at $2,579 per store per week, exhibiting the only decline in the nation of 6.5% from the prior year.
The South region had the largest increase in shrimp average weekly store sales, up 3.4% to $1,595 per store per week. The West region sold $1,439 per store per week after a slight increase of 0.4% compared to the previous year. Finally, the Central region had the lowest average dollar sales at $1,372 per store per week, up 1.6% from the prior year, as well as the lowest dollar contribution to total seafood dollar sales at 25.0%
Shrimp had the largest dollar contribution to the seafood department in the South region, at 29.2%. The West region, followed with 27.7% dollar contribution to department. While the East region had the highest average sales, the shrimp category contributed 25.5% to seafood department dollars, as mollusks are more popular in the region.
Historically, shrimp sales peaked during holiday weeks such as Christmas and Valentine’s Day. Shrimp adds easy elegance to holiday entertaining through shrimp cocktails, seafood pastas and as main dishes. Nationally during the 52 weeks ending Sept. 25, 2010, dollar sales were highest the week of Christmas at $3,339 per store. Promotions were also highest during this week, as more than half of the shrimp volume sold was on promotion. However, average promotional pricing peaked above the everyday price this week, implying that more expensive items, such as jumbo shrimp or 4-pound cooked shrimp, were promoted more than less expensive items. The week of Thanksgiving also had higher promotional pricing than everyday pricings.
Shrimp had the greatest sales lift on promotion the week ending Sept. 11, 2010, at 256.2% above expected sales. However, compared to previous weeks, the share of promoted volume did not fluctuate. The lift in sales was due to more efficient promotions with lower promoted pricing compared to the previous weeks and the prior year.
Shrimp was the only fresh seafood category to decrease both promotional and non-promotional pricing from the prior year. However, like other fresh seafood, promoted shrimp volume declined compared to the prior year. The percentage of shrimp volume that was sold while on promotion declined 2.6 percentage points, generating 4.3 percentage points less volume on lift compared to the previous year.
This sales review is provided by the Perishables Group, Inc. (PG), Chicago, Illinois, an independent consulting firm focused on innovation and creating value for clients in the fresh food industry. Reported results are for Oct. 3, 2009, through Sept. 25, 2010, compiled from grocery stores nationwide, representing 63.2% of national supermarket ACV share. Sales data provided by Perishables Group FreshFacts®, powered by Nielsen.
Source: Perishables Group Inc.