National Retail Report - June 20

From the USDA's June 20 National Retail Report:

Retailers Entice Shoppers with Summer Themes and Seasonal Produce
Summer and its bounty of domestically-grown fresh fruits and vegetables continued to be the theme of most retail ads this week. Many retailers led their ads with produce and these front pages most often featured berries, stone fruits and melons. Often, ads highlighted locally or regionally-grown produce, such as blueberries from New Jersey. “Buy-one-getone- free” and “10 for $10” ads were abundant this week. Fresh produce ad activity rebounded this week with an overall increase of 12%. Fruits were up roughly 27% and vegetables declined by about 2%. The top 5 items were once again concentrated on fruits and included: grapes, cantaloupes, peaches, sweet onions, and strawberries. Despite a decline of vegetable ads reported, however, many seasonal vegetable ads (eggplants, okra, yellow squash) not captured in this report were noted. Once again, berries were featured quite heavily. Blueberries continue to be advertised most often in pints as opposed to the 4.4 oz package. This data is reflected in our seasonal category below along with blackberries and raspberries.



Fruits as Percentage of Total Fruit Ads -June 20, 2008
Plums 6%
Pineapple 5%
Lemons 0%
Bananas 0%
Blueberries 1%
Bananas, organic 0%
Avocadoes, hass 6%
Apples, red delicious 1%
Watermelon, seedless 2%
Watermelon, mini 3%
Organic Strawberries, 4%
Strawberries 7%
Cantaloupe 11%
Cherries 8%
Honeydew 3%
Limes 4%
Grapefruit, red 0%
Grapes, green/red 12%
Mangoes 7%
Nectarines 7%
Pears, bartlett 0%
Oranges, navel 0%
Peaches 11%


Vegetables as Percentage of Total Vegetable Ads - June 20, 2008
Broccoli, organic 1%
Broccoli 1%
Beans, round green 5%
Tomatoes on the vine 9%
Tomatoes 2%
Cabbage 1%
Carrots, baby organic 5%
Carrots, baby 7%
Asparagus 2%
Tomatoes, grape organic 4%
Tomatoes, grape 2%
Celery 0%
Corn 8%
Cucumbers 6%
Lettuce, iceberg 3%
Lettuce, romaine 4%
Mushrooms, white 7%
Onions, yellow 1%
Sweet Potatoes 1%
Squash, zucchini 8%
Potatoes, russet 1%
Peppers, bell red 7%
Peppers, bell green 5%
Onions, sweet 11%