Looking for Value
Looking For Value
The food landscape - always a fluid environment, has seen some dramatic shifts over the past 12 months. With consumers reducing their dining out dollars and increasing the number of meals consumed in the home, competition has become most intense in the past few months to provide value to retail consumers trying to stretch their purchasing power. This is great news from a retailer’s perspective as it drives more consumers into the store and many retailers are seeing comp sales increases as high as 5% over last year. But what are they going to buy? Convenience-as the economy has slid into recession, people are working harder. Taking on more responsibility and working more hours as they are asked to do more with less. They have little or no time to plan much less execute on a meal. So they are looking for products that they know how to cook or products that they feel they cook quickly and successfully. Quality-for those consumers that are trading in their frequent diner card for a frequent shopper card, they are coming into the store looking for products that will replace that restaurant experience. That means that they are looking for quality products in terms of freshness, taste and appearance. Value- Consumers are watching their expenditures. Savings rates have increased for the first time in decades and everyone is trying to do more with less. Does this mean that they are looking for the cheapest product on the shelf? Not necessarily. What they are looking for is a solid value. Products that are aggressively priced and meet their need for quality and convenience at the same time.
Unfortunately, seafood has not fared as well as we all would like in this competition. In the last three quarters of 08′, seafood was the only perishables department that did not see an increase in sales and tonnage. As customers have defined their purchasing decisions they have found that other proteins, in particular poultry, which saw a 6.7% increase in sales in 2008, have met their needs more effectively. It does not have to be this way. There are a large number of products that can be offered at a great value. Products like Capensis, Swai and Ponga, to name a few, all offer wholesale price points in the mid $2.00 range which would allow a retailer to market these products for as little as $3.99 per pound on sale. Although it may take some innovative marketing to introduce consumers to these species, given the competitive environment I think it will be well worth the effort.