Spring Bright Spots in Grocery Retail
April showers might bring May flowers, but the month had some sunny spots for grocers across the omnichannel. New market research shows that certain categories and purchase modes came in strong during the opening month of the second quarter.
According to the latest data from Circana and 210 Analytics, dollar and volume sales were up in April over the same period in 2023. “A few departments still managed to grow volume sales in April, including fresh produce, with a stellar performance by fruit,” commented Anne-Marie Roerink, principal at 210 Analytics, in a LinkedIn post.
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To that point, fresh fruit sales rose 2.2% in units and 0.3% in volume on a year-over-year (YoY) basis, even as the earlier celebration of Easter in March put a bit of a comparative crimp in the market. Fruit also grew pound sales by 2% in April. Vegetables, meanwhile, posted slightly lower sales and gains.
Floral remains a blooming category, according to the Circana/210 Analytics research. Unit sales were up 2% YoY in April, fueled by strong everyday sales and robust New Year’s and Valentine’s Day performances.
Protein categories likewise fared well last month. Even with the shifting Easter schedule this year, meat sales were higher, up 3.7% in dollars and 1.9% in pound sales compared to April 2023. In particular, chicken, ground beef and smaller grounds including turkey, pork and chicken had a solid month.
Elsewhere in the store, deli cheese, entertaining and prepared foods delivered higher unit sales in April. Deli-prepared sales came in at $2.3 billion during that period, led by strong sales of prepared meats, pizza, soup and specialty cheese.
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Looking ahead, the results for April point to a continued impact from overall elevated food prices. “The sustained financial pressure and above-average inflation in foodservice is likely going to result in a continued home-centric meal landscape,” the joint Circana/210 Analytics report projects.
Meanwhile, the e-commerce arena also had some strong performances in April. According to the latest Brick Meets Click/Mercatus Grocery Shopper Survey, the online grocery market grew 4.4% versus April 2023, fueled by gains across pickup, delivery and ship-to-home receiving segments.
The survey shows that pickup sales increased 2.1% on a YoY basis, fueled by higher average order values. Delivery sales went up 4.3%, enhanced by an expansion of the monthly active user base. The ship-to-home mode experienced a 10.2% gain in April, mainly due to a large increase average order values.
“Delivery sales in e-grocery continue to benefit from significant interest and investment from third-party providers and Walmart,” said David Bishop, partner at Brick Meets Click. “One question related to this growth remains whether many of the newer customers who are attracted by the trial offers will behave like streaming subscription service users who choose to use one service at a time until the ‘free’ period expires, and then jump to the next special offer.”
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Added Mark Fairhurst, chief growth officer at Mercatus: “Given the recent shifts in consumer purchasing patterns, especially the increased flight-to-value and rise in cross-shopping between supermarkets and mass retailers, grocery executives need to lean on their technology partners to offer solutions that enhance the shopping experience, whether that’s online or in-store. Mass retailers, like Walmart and Target, have already invested heavily in their mobile apps, and are now tapping into emerging technologies like machine learning and AI to better predict and adapt to customer behavior in real-time.”
