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Prepared seafood an easy option
Prepared seafood an easy option Christmas season boosts
category sales, while summer slumps
September 01, 2006
Prepared seafood, including side dishes, entrées and other
items, provide healthy grab-and-go options for consumers
looking for easy meal solutions. Nationally, prepared-seafood
sales claimed an average of 14.3 percent of seafood-department
sales per week per store during the 52 weeks between July 2005
and June 2006.
The top week for prepared seafood sales was Christmas week
2005, with average per-week/per-store sales more than double
the annual average. Summer is historically the slowest sales
period for prepared seafood, likely due to consumers opting for
unprepared seafood or other proteins to grill. During the 52
weeks between July 2005 and June 2006, the second week in June
posted the lowest prepared seafood sales. Prepared- seafood
contribution to total seafood dollar sales was down in five of
the first six months of 2006 compared to 2005.
The East and Central regions captured the greatest
prepared-seafood contribution to total seafood department sales
during the 52 weeks between July 2005 and June 2006. The East
also posted prepared-seafood sales nearly two times the
national average. During the 52-week timeframe between July
2005 and June 2006, the region with the greatest opportunity in
mollusks was the West region, with average prepared- seafood
contribution to total seafood sales of 12.7 percent per week
per store.
Prepared fish captured 62.8 percent of prepared-seafood
dollar share the first week of March 2006, corresponding with
Mardi Gras and the start of Lent. Platters registered a 50.2
percent prepared-seafood dollar share during Christmas week
2005, more than double the annual average. With the arrival of
picnic season, seafood salad dollar share of prepared seafood
sales rose during each week in June 2006.