July 11, 2022 — High inflation continues to impact fresh seafood sales in U.S. grocery stores, but sales of canned and pouched seafood are rising as shoppers cut costs.
Inflation on fresh seafood was down slightly in June compared to the past two months, but was still up 10.9 percent on average per unit for the month.
Frozen seafood sales were also negatively impacted by rising inflation in June, but not as severely as fresh sales, according to new data from IRI and 210 Analytics.
Inflation is also impacting frozen seafood sales, though frozen seafood sales reached USD 520 million in June, outpacing fresh retail sales.
Ninety-three percent of Americans are concerned about inflation and 81 percent are applying money-saving measures, according to IRI’s June consumer shopping habits survey. And 96 percent of consumers say they are paying somewhat or a lot more for grocery items than they did last year, the survey found.
Eighty-one percent of grocery shoppers made changes to what and where they purchased in June, up from 50 percent in the fall of 2021, according to IRI’s June shopper survey.
Changes include looking for sales specials, skipping non-essentials, finding coupons, and buying more private or other low-cost brands.
In addition, 51 percent of shoppers are stocking up on certain items more than usual – 18 percent out of fear they will not be available next time and 26 percent out of concern that prices may rise further.