Analysis of Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Sales at Retail

“The marketplace continues to have an oversized impact on produce sales. Retailers are responding with solution-driven Thanksgiving sales promotions to capture as much of the holiday spend as possible. At the same time, everyday quality, freshness and initiatives driven at optimized shelf life remain important to help consumers prevent at-home fresh produce food waste.”

Joe Watson, VP, Retail, Foodservice & Wholesale for IFPA

October 2023

Three months of positive pound gains averaged into a 1.4% increase in pounds for fresh produce during the third quarter of the year when compared to 2022. In October, the last two weeks of the month pulled pound sales slightly below year-ago levels. Due to very different movements in price, the frozen and shelf-stable share of dollars was above normal in October. When regarding units, a much truer measure of performance void of inflationary influences, fresh was the far better performer.

Nevertheless, the pressure on America’s pocket book is real. Sustained financial pressure has resulted in some trips being focused on money-well-saved, whereas others are focused on money-well-spent. Rather than a singular focus on price, shopping has become a nonstop balancing act between price, time, health, taste, experience and more. Sales patterns reflect adjustments to how much, what and where consumers purchase, with a big emphasis on sales specials.