National Retail Report - Dec. 28

Here is the link to the USDA's National Retail Report issued Dec. 28. I've also added a page of retail links to food page ads, a page that I will add to as I find more online food page ads.

Here is the USDA's summary of retail activity this week:

Advertised Prices for Fruits & Vegetables at Major Retail Supermarket Outlets 12/22 to 01/031,
Holiday celebrations continue to influence ads.
Retailers were wrapping up Christmas promotions this week and ads breaking midweek and later were focused heavily on the upcoming New Year’s celebrations. Traditionally popular foods thought to bring luck in the New Year such as pork, cabbage, and a variety of greens were promoted nationwide. Retailers also continued to highlight party items such as seafood platters, deli/bakery platters, and fruit and vegetable trays. The bulk (nearly 50 percent) of this week’s ads was concentrated on just 9 items. These top commodities included: avocados, limes, cherries, carrots, cabbage, grape tomatoes, pineapples, mangoes, and cantaloupes. Fruits continued to command the majority of ad space and accounted for more than 56 percent of the total ads. Notable increases in activity were seen on some tropical fruits (avocados, limes, lemons, and mangoes) while ads on staples such as apples and bananas declined drastically. Imported peaches, nectarines, and plums as well as Florida strawberries were beginning to show up more often in ads this week. Imported cherries continued to be featured heavily. Several items which had seen heavy increases in activity over the past few weeks for the holidays were beginning to decline. These included: asparagus, celery, pineapples, and sweet potatoes.