Fresh produce sales hold steady in a challenging 2023

With unit and volume pressure for departments around the store, the fresh produce performance stands out. Bringing in $76.5 billion, fresh produce increased dollar sales by 1.5% with flat unit and volume sales.

Consumer spending and confidence remains subdued

Inflation continued to take the headlines in most of 2023, with consumer’ concern driven by the cumulative impact of several years of rising prices in many areas of life. This put sales promotions in the spotlight. Other frequently-applied measures according to the December shopper survey by Circana include cutting back on non-essentials, exploring store brands, clipping coupons and a number of store-related moves.

As inflation is slowing, consumers are becoming slightly more optimistic.

·The December survey found that 58% of consumers perceive grocery prices to be “much higher,” down 4 points versus November and down 16 points from last December. 

·19% of consumers reported that their financial situation is better than last year versus 13% in December 2022. Shoppers’ financial outlook has also shown some improvement since 2022. While the number expecting their financial situation to be better a year from now has been steady, there are fewer who expect it to be worse, at 24% versus 31% in December 2022.

2023 Fresh produce sales held the line on units and volume, after declining in 2021 and 2022.

The third quarter was the strongest, with a somewhat disappointing fourth quarter

Strength for produce household metrics

The why behind stable performance in produce department sales throughout the 2023 calendar year are illustrated by Circana’s household panel metrics. Household penetration is steady, consumers purchase fresh produce 76.4 times a year, up 0.2% and they are spending $8.90 per trip, up 0.5% versus year ago. This is in contrast to fresh meat and seafood that are experiencing fewer trips.