National Retail Report - April 4

The decline of fruit promotions and the rise of vegetable ads is reflected in retail promotions this week, the USDA report. Here is the link to the April 4 USDA's Fruit and Vegetable Retail Report. From the report:

Ads Celebrate Spring
The onset of Spring was the theme of many retail ads this week with specials throughout the store. Meat sales were common and a few retailers in warmer parts of the country were even promoting items for outdoor grilling. “Buy-one-getone-free” and “10 for $10” specials were also quite prevalent.Fresh produce ad activity was about the same compared to last week. However, fruits were featured nearly 18 percent less often with the majority of fruit items showing a decline in activity. Conversely, vegetables were featured about 19 percent more often than last week. The most notable increases were seen on asparagus, corn, and tomatoes (combined tomato items). Despite the decline of fruit ads and increase in vegetables, though, the most widely featured individual items were mostly fruits. The top 5 items this week were: grapes, asparagus, strawberries, mangoes, and sweet onions. Many retailers seem to be featuring organic items more prominently in ads recently. This week, there were a variety of ads for organic items. In addition to those in this report, ads for organic avocados, broccoli, cauliflower, bell peppers, eggplant, potatoes, and zucchini were noted.


Fruits as Percentage of Total Fruit Ads April 04, 2008
Watermelon, seedless 2%
Watermelon, mini 4%
Strawberries, organic 2%
Strawberries 15%
Plums 3%
Pineapple 5%
Peaches 1%
Pears, bartlett 5%
Oranges, navel 3%
Nectarines, yellow flesh 1%
Mangoes 12%
Bananas 0%
Apples, red delicious 4%
Avocadoes, hass 8%
Blueberries 2%
Cantaloupe 9%
Clementines 0%
Grapes, green/red 16%
Limes 1%
Honeydew 2%
Lemons 1%
Grapefruit, red 4%


Vegetables as Percentage of Total Vegetable Ads April 04, 2008
Sweet Potatoes 1%
Tomatoes 3%
Tomatoes, organic 0%
Tomatoes on the vine 9%
Tomatoes, grape 5%
Tomatoes, grape organic 4%
Lettuce, iceberg 2%
Cucumbers 7%
Corn 6%
Celery 2%
Carrots, baby organic 1%
Carrots, baby 5%
Cabbage 2%
Broccoli, organic 1%
Beans, round green 3%
Broccoli 5%
Lettuce, romaine 1%
Squash, zucchini 3%
Peppers, bell red 5%
Potatoes, russet 4%
Peppers, bell green 4%
Onions, sweet 7%
Onions, yellow 4%
Mushrooms, white 4%