WENATCHEE, WA – Stemilt’s innovative new management program Fruit Tracker™ has launched Fast Facts—a new video series that shares analysis of retail scan data with retailers.
“Our Fruit Tracker program has provided retailers with category analysis for 12 years, and this new video series is a modern way for us to break down hard-to-understand data into key takeaways. The Fast Facts video series will be quick to watch and timely so that retailers can react to the news of the data and make positive changes to a particular category in the months ahead,” said Brianna Shales, Stemilt Communications Manager.
The first episode of Fast Facts looks at apple category performance from September 2016—a time in which year over year dollar sales increased 3.2 percent from 2015.
The East Coast led all other regions with a 9.1 percent increase in dollars, according to a press release, in large part because bags were unavailable due to a late apple harvest on the East Coast. As a result, retailers purchased more apples in bulk from national providers.
Bulk apples saw a 4.2 percent increase in volume sold in September, while bagged apples decreased by 5.2 percent. Bulk apples made up 66.2 percent of apples sales, while bags took the leftover 33.8 percent. Average bulk sale was $0.30 more per pound than bags at $1.72.
“Bulk apples are the backbone of every high-performing apple category, and September was a great start to the season for apples at retail across the country. As retailers look ahead in their apple planning, it’s important to keep the emphasis on bulk with multi-variety promotions at least once a month,” said Shales.
Gala apples were the most popular variety of apple this September, Stemilt noted, making up 32.9 percent of the category by volume. Honeycrisp took a distant second with 13.7 percent, but they had the highest average retail price at $2.69 per pound. Fuji and Red Delicious tied in fourth with 11.2 percent of the category each.
Shales added, “The data in September reaffirmed that apples are a vital part of the produce department throughout the year, and that will continue to be true in the coming winter and spring months. We just wrapped harvest in Washington State and have great supplies of high-quality bulk apples to continue to bolster apple sales in the months to come.”
Apples made up 6.4 percent of produce department sales nationally, with the Central region leading other areas at 8 percent.
The data for the September 2016 video was provided by Nielsen. For more on apples and data-driven solutions to produce needs, stay tuned to AndNowUKnow.
