National Retail Report - Sept. 5

Post Labor Day supermarket ads are heavy to the fruit category. From the USDA National Retail Report from Sept. 5. The USDA report also includes a new section on organic promotions.


Advertised Prices for Fruits & Vegetables at Major Retail Supermarket Outlets - 08/30 to 09/11

Fruits Dominate Post-Labor Day Fresh Produce Ads
Retailers resumed their back-to-school ads this week with kid-friendly items suitable for acked lunches and snacks. Some retailers even went so far as to suggest quick, budget-conscious, nutritious menus for breakfast, lunch and dinner built around their promotions. In addition, many ads highlighted the beginning of football season with a variety of beverages and snack items. Overall this week, fresh produce ads were down slightly compared to last week. Vegetable ads were down just over 11%, but fruit ads were up 4.5%. Fruit ads continued to be featured more heavily than vegetables and accounted for all 5 of he top featured items. Peaches, grapes, nectarines, plums, and cantaloupes were the top 5 featured items and collectively made up 60% of all fruit ads and more than 33% of total produce ads. The most notable changes this week were seen on: bananas, carrots, pears, corn and watermelons. Significant increases were seen on bananas, more than double compared to last week, and baby carrots (both conventional and organic), up 27%, as retailers featured these items often in back-to-school ads. Ads on Bartlett pears were also up ore than double compared to last week as many retailers took the opportunity to highlight the new crop. Both corn and whole, seedless watermelons were down significantly after being featured heavily last week for the Labor Day holiday.


Fruits as Percentage of Total Fruit Ads - September 5, 2008
Oranges,navel 1%
Nectarines 13%
Peaches 15%
Pineapple 5%
Pears, bartlett 11%
Mangoes 2%
Lemons 0%
Plums 9%
Strawberries 5%
Strawberries, organic 1%
Watermelon, mini 2%
Clementines 0%
Grapes,green/red 15%
Grapefruit, red 1%
Honeydew 3%
Limes 2%
Cantaloupe 8%
Blueberries 1%
Watermelon,
seedless 2%
Bananas, organic 0%
Apples, red delicious 0%
Avocadoes, hass 4%
Bananas 2%



Vegetables as Percentage of Total Vegetable Ads - September 5, 2008
Broccoli, organic 0%
Broccoli 4%
Beans, round green 4%
Tomatoes, grape 4%
Tomatoes on the vine 10%
Tomatoes 4%
Cabbage 3%
Carrots, baby organic 5%
Carrots, baby 7%
Asparagus 6%
Tomatoes, grape organic 4%
Celery 2%
Corn 4%
Cucumbers 6%
Lettuce, iceberg 2%
Lettuce, romaine 1%
Mushrooms, white 4%
Onions, yellow 3%
Sweet Potatoes 1%
Squash, zucchini 7%
Potatoes, russet 2%
Peppers, bell red 5%
Peppers, bell green 8%
Onions, sweet 4%