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« January 2011 Table of Contents

Retail Report: Promo, non-promo shrimp prices fall

Raw shrimp sales contribute almost 60 percent of weekly sales

As the character Bubba eloquently said in the popular movie "Forrest 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 
percent to seafood department sales during the 52 weeks ending Sept. 25, 2010. Weekly shrimp sales included both raw and cooked, with raw accounting for 58 percent of total shrimp dollars per store.

Weekly sales averaged $1,705 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; yet the East exhibited the nation's only decline of 6.5 percent from the prior year.

The South region had the largest increase in average weekly store sales, up 3.4 percent to $1,595 per store. The West region sold $1,439 per store, a slight increase of 0.4 percent compared to the previous year. Finally, the Central region had the lowest average weekly shrimp dollar sales at $1,372 per store, up 1.6 percent from the prior year, as well as the lowest dollar contribution to total seafood department sales at 25 percent.

Shrimp had the largest dollar contribution to the seafood department in the South region, at 29.2 percent. The West region followed with 27.7 percent dollar contribution to department. While the East region had the highest average sales, the shrimp category contributed 25.5 percent to seafood department dollars, as mollusks are more popular in the region.

Shrimp sales peak during holiday weeks such as Christmas and Valentine's Day. Nationally, during the 52 weeks ending Sept. 25, 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, 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 percent 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.

Related articles:

http://www.seafoodbusiness.com/articledetail.aspx?id=14035