The Retail Rundown: The April Outlook

The first inklings of planting season have made an appearance and with it comes the prospect of prolonged warmer weather. April typically launches a period of improved foodservice and retail demand as the shift in seasons encourages consumers to venture outdoors and fire up the grill. Moreover, spring break is underway, giving a boost to foodservice interest.

With spring in full swing, feature volume will begin to shift from roasts, popular with cooler weather cooking, to grilling cuts. Currently, the pork category overtakes seafood for a second consecutive week with the most feature volume...

The Retail Rundown: Hopping Towards the Holiday

Seafood maintains its lion’s share of total feature volume with 37% this week, up from 28.6% the week prior. At present, 42% of seafood features stem from the fresh/frozen fillet category as retailers look to capture sales from Lent observers.

Tilapia and salmon have the greatest percentages of feature volume within the fillet category. With prices comparable to or below year-ago levels, retailers were keen to give the two species a larger chunk of circular real estate.

Fresh salmon, the top seller within the finfish category last week, retailed at...

The Retail Rundown: Several Occasions to Boost Spending This Month

The calendar has finally changed to May and grocers are eager to capitalize on the warming trend as households begin to soak up the sun and dust off their grills.

This month has several occasions that help drive food purchases and store traffic—one being baseball season. Hot dogs, brats, beer, and more are a home run with fans with fans cheering on from home and in the stadiums.

Coming up this Friday is Cinco de Mayo, which is expected to increase ethnic food purchasing. The deli-prepared section of the store benefits from this celebration by featuring entrees like quesadillas and tacos in the days leading up to the holiday...

The Retail Rundown: Inching Towards May

Grilling enthusiasm is picking up as we inch closer to May. However, spring fever among shoppers may be lacking for now as chillier weather returns to portions of the country this week. 

In the meantime, grocers are preparing for several occasions next month that could help accelerate sales of various snack items and proteins.

Next week is Cinco de Mayo, a holiday that commemorates Mexico's victory over the French army in 1862. This holiday could increase sales of items including salsa and tortilla chips along with meat as consumers indulge in dishes like enchiladas and tacos...