From Boston: Economic impact on consumer seafood purchasing

Butch Brougher, Associate Client Director at The Nielson Company and Steve Lutz, Executive VP of the Perishables Group, just schooled a rapt audience in their conference at the 2010 Boston Seafood Show titled, How the Economy is Changing Seafood Purchases.

Lutz went rapid fire through a stimulating look at how shopper’s habits have changed as a result of the current economic situation.  He noted that the key recession trends include shifting behaviors like buying less per shopping trip, shopping more frequently, looking for deals and creating new savings strategies. 

According to Lutz, consumers feel worse than they did a few years ago and it shows in their buying habits.  He showed a quote pulled from a September 16 Wall Street Journal article that stated, “consumers are promotionally sensitive…” and that they are also looking for value.

Value was the key in Brougher’s presentation as well. Both men emphasized that value has many faces – it doesn’t just mean low priced.  Brougher’s information showed that consumers have some other important concerns – including health.  Boomers especially are looking for healthy food, they want to see information on ingredients and nutrition – so get it out there for them! He also showed that “omega” is the number one word people are looking for out there – lucky for us seafood people! 

Consumers are also getting way into coupons – for the first time in a long time coupon use is on the rise!  Both presenters emphasized the use of coupons as part of a successful promotional strategy.

Other key components could include bulk packs of seafood – according to Lutz, that’s something consumers are definitely buying more of, especially if they have a coupon! Package up some 5 lb. units of salmon or catfish – but don’t stop there! Show your customers (or show your customers how to show their customers) how to repack and freeze some of the fish for later use, or how to cook all the fish at once – then serve some for dinner that night, and then use the leftovers for brunch the next morning or to make a tasty spread to bring to a party later in the week…

Some other good news - the numbers from Brougher showed that consumers are trading away from beef towards other proteins – including seafood.  Take advantage of it!

Also important for those of you selling to retail markets: remind them that a quality driven seafood department can be the key to their store’s success and help them achieve that!  Promotional help, education, in-store demos – put together a package that takes into account what consumers are looking for; value, health information, coupons, bulk packs and convenience.

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