This Week in Retail: Enter the Dog Days

Goodbye July—hello August. The dog days of summer are here as we enter the lazy hazy final crazy days of the season.  

August is often referred to as the “Sunday of summer” and that perspective could bode well for retail sales as consumers seek to soak up the last few weeks of sunshine and outdoor activity before the school year resumes and the weather begins to transition again.

Beef is killing the retail game in recent weeks, taking the top weekly spot for protein feature volume during the entire month of July. Currently, beef ads account for 27 percent of circular real estate, beating out second placed seafood at 23 percent. Steak features make up about half...

This Week in Retail: Looking Ahead to Father’s Day Spending

Father’s Day is coming up on Sunday, June 16^th, and retailers are prepping for the second big grilling holiday of the summer.

According to the National Retail Federation, Father’s Day spending in 2019 is expected to reach an all-time high of $16 billion. That’s up from last year’s $15.3 billion. This monumental spending figure still, however, pales in comparison to spending for Mother’s Day, coming in at a whopping $25 billion.

Mother’s Day has long been known as a foodservice holiday, but Father’s Day tends to favor grilling at home with some quality steaks, burgers, chops or ribs. The NRF also reports that spending for Father’s Day has grown 70 percent over the last decade, with special outings playing a big part of that growth, accounting for a projected $3.3 billion. With 76 percent of...

This Week in Retail: YOY Feature Price Comparison

It’s hard to believe there are only three weekends left to shop and prepare for Christmas. In the coming weeks, grocers will be pulling out all the stops to capitalize on consumer holiday spending.

Looking at buying opportunities in the current week, beef feature volume leads the protein pack with 25.2 percent. Seafood is a very close second with 24.7 percent, while pork claims 23.2 percent. Chicken accounts for 18.7 percent of feature volume.

In the beef complex, steak feature volume saw a larger week over week increase, with top sirloin taking the top spot with 19.1 percent. The average feature price for top sirloin this week is $6.02 per pound, which is up about 50 cents per pound from a year ago, and up from last week’s average of $5.24 per pound. However, more comparatively attractive year-over-year steak features can be found in... 

This Week in Retail: Ad Prices for Beef Most Attractive in Years

Beef prices have ridden an often-unpredictable roller coaster over the years. Swings in the wholesale market due to drought and other market factors over time eventually make their way to retail, though often more subtle and slowly. However, as consumers are continuously forced to adjust their budgets for beef, we’ve seemingly become more sensitive to fluctuations. So, when feature prices reach the lowest levels seen in years—consumers take note.

In 2013, the average weekly beef retail feature index price for the year was $4.89 per pound—and that was the last time it’s been below the $5 mark ever since. The market rose steadily through 2015 and 2016 before starting to soften...

Omaha Steaks Launches New Line of Dog Treats

OMAHA, NEBRASKA — Omaha Steaks, retailer of steaks, seafood and food gifts for humans, now offers a new line of premium dog treats. The fifth generation, family-owned company cites the nearly 78 million US dog-owning households and the increasing demand for dog treats. Market research firm, Packaged Facts, reports the sale of pet treats and chews topped $6 billion in sales in 2017.

“We understand that Americans love their dogs and consider them family. That is why we wanted to offer a line of premium ingredient dog treats that our customers could trust,” said Todd Simon, senior vice president and family owner. “For generations, Omaha Steaks has been bringing families together around the dinner table and we are sure that many dogs have enjoyed bites of filet mignon slipped to them under the table. Now we are offering something made exclusively for the family dogs we know and love.”

Omaha Steaks’ new line of dog treats are made ...