Savings time: National Retail Report - Jan. 16

Above: cherries and blueberries at Wal-Mart end cap on Jan. 19 in Olathe, Kansas



From the summary of the National Retail Report from Jan. 16.

This week, most ads showed a renewed focus on saving money with a variety of promotions. These included, “10 for $10” and “5 for $5” with an emphasis on general grocery items such as canned goods. There were also some retailers continuing to highlight healthful choices in the New Year especially with their natural and organic selections. Overall fresh produce ad activity was up again this week by more than 8%. This increase corresponded to an increases in both fruit (up nearly 6%) and vegetable (up nearly 12%) ad activity. The fruit category dominated the top 5 featured items once again this week. The top 5 accounted for almost half of all fruit ads and nearly a third of total produce ads. These included: peaches, nectarines, grapes, cherries, and avocados.