National Retail Report - May 9

The May 9 USDA National Retail Report offers insight into current promotional trends at the retail level. From the summary:

Mother’s Day was the focus of most retail ads this week. Retailers highlighted gift items and breakfast foods for the occasion. These included: potted and fresh cut flowers (especially roses by the dozen), chocolates, and strawberries. In addition to Mother’s Day, ads breaking on the weekend continued to highlight the Cinco de Mayo celebration. Many ads also featured party platters, baked goods, meats, and fresh vegetables for graduation celebrations and cook-outs. Overall fresh produce ad activity was down 15% from last week with fruits down 25% and vegetables down over 6%. The top 5 featured items were strawberries, corn, tomatoes on the vine, sweet onions, and pineapples. The bulk of both fruit and vegetable ads were heavily concentrated on just a few items. Strawberries, both conventional and organic, accounted for more than 25% of all fruit ads. The combination of conventional and organic strawberries, pineapples, and blueberries made up more than half of all fruit ads and nearly 21% of all produce ads. Corn, tomatoes on the vine, and sweet onions accounted for more than one-third of all vegetable ads and nearly 21% of all produce ads.