Supermarket Perimeter - October 2024 - 57

a false sense of security depending on how the previous two and three
year sales stacks look like. "
As a result, grocers' promotional ad space and promotional
markdown investments have not been generating the historical lifts and
incremental foot traffic for shrimp in particular as they had in the past,
" without going notably lower than historical 'front-cover 'advertised
retails, " Resner said. " And, even though most shrimp is staying at
moderate lower costs this year, the needed depth of retail investment to
move the volume needle is not conducive to a retailer's P&L based on
the diminishing returns. "
Merchandising, marketing tactics to grow shellfish sales
Given Americans' increasing cost-of-living expenses, discounts and
promotions are vital. It usually takes six to 12 months, depending on the
category, for consumers to truly react to deflation - especially for items
that are only purchased a few times per year, Roerink explained.
" So certainly, retailers would benefit from pointing the more favorable
pricing out to consumers to prompt re-engagement with the category. "
" Since it appears that promotional frequencies have dropped off across
the country due to lack of demand, to help generate more incremental
demand, retailers could ideally better utilize shrimp and shellfish to
lead limited day sales events with a little deeper invested promotional
retails, " Resner said. " With the right marketing elements behind the
event, the odds are in their favor of generating incremental foot traffic to
drive more volume to create more profit dollars on the items as well as
help build the shopping basket around the seafood items. "
For instance, retailers could market fresh - not frozen then thawed
- Colossal Wild Caught shrimp as a limited day event. That type of
event could spur some consumer interest, " especially if the retailer can
advertise 'by-the-each 'on this item versus 'by-the-pound 'and have
a marketing campaign behind it with meal or recipe suggestions, "
Resner said.
The keys to growing shrimp sales and volume include consistent
promotional frequencies, tiered sale retails across the sizes, and pulsing
incremental weekend events at " shock and awe " retails in attempts to
generate new incremental customer traffic, Resner said.
Resner was effective when leading Fresh Thyme's seafood sales with
numerous weekend and week-long promotions on snow crab last year,
leading to a 390% increase in crab sales during September 2023 alone,
and a spike in volume of 774% that month. Digital and social marketing
was a critical part of the success during those types of promotions.
Retailers can also try increasing assortment to grow sales.
" Improvements in assortment are always important because so
much of the fresh seafood dollar is clustered in that top 10 percentile
of seafood shoppers that represent 45% of seafood sales, " Roerink said.
" These are the shoppers that like to experiment, like a wide variety
of seafood items plus are very comfortable preparing just about any
seafood item. "
The average assortment of fresh shellfish items in retailers rose 0.7%
in the second quarter to 13.4 weekly, according to Circana, compared
to frozen shellfish assortment, which plunged 7.9% to 27 items weekly,
providing more opportunities for the fresh department.
Including shellfish in the lucrative prepared meals segment is another
great idea.
supermarketperimeter.com
OCTOBER 2024 - 57
Giving customers
recipe and other
prep ideas is a great
way to add value
to the category.
" The restaurant headlines are quite depressing at the moment, with
one chain after another announcing closures, bankruptcies or moves
to value as consumers are unable to absorb the cost increases from
the past few years, " Roerink noted. " That means some two-thirds of
Americans are trying to recreate restaurant meals at home. "
In the deli prepared area of the store, consumers are comparing meal
prices to those at restaurants - and grocery meals are typically a value
in comparison.
In addition to white tablecloth restaurants that typically feature luxury
seafood including lobster and crab, shoppers are comparing prices at
QSR and fast casual eateries with grocery deli prices.
" Pointing out that the store has time-saving AND money-saving
solutions, can help secure these kinds of meals, " Roerink said.
As a result, retailers can feature items like fish sandwiches, shrimp
po'boys, sushi, poke, and seafood salads.
Roerink added that more retailers are including shrimp in prepared
seafood dishes.
" This includes the ready-to-cook meals such as shrimp alfredo, but
also cold shrimp and seafood salad and kababs. Additionally, I'm seeing
retailers get creative with having shrimp in pre-packaged seafood areas
of the store. Sometimes that's just shrimp, but other times, retailers
are adding herb butters or dipping sauces for that extra value add.
By having shellfish - in particular shrimp given its high household
penetration - be merchandised in multiple areas of the store means
that visibility will help drive trips. "
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