While AmazonFresh executives want retailer and wholesaler Santa Monica Seafood to expand its fresh and frozen seafood SKUs, the distributor will likely opt not to.
“They want me to put out more SKUs, but they are not all successful now. Some SKUs have had no movement in the last 90-plus days,” Bob Vogel, Santa Monica retail operations director told SeafoodSource.
Since the Santa Monica, Calif., U.S.-based company began working with Amazon’s grocery and local products delivery service last June, sales have grown exponentially, according to Vogel. AmazonFresh was adding between USD 200 (EUR 150) and USD 600 (EUR 449) in additional sales to Santa Monica’s retail operations daily when it was carrying only 20 SKUs last fall. Vogel declined to identify current sales.
Product selection has grown from 15 SKUs at the start to 60 SKUs now, featuring fresh and frozen seafood as well as prepared items such as SMS-branded sauces.
While AmazonFresh executives would like to see SMS expand to 90 different SKUs, that is a difficult process to manage, according to Vogel.
“I’m monitoring all the arrivals of fresh fish. Having to have the fish available for one day and not another is hard on the managers. I’m already space challenged, and AmazonFresh has changed the operating hours three times now. Instead of staff coming in at 9:00 a.m. [to fulfill orders], I have them coming in at 6:00 a.m.,” Vogel said.
Santa Monica updates its product list and availability daily on AmazonFresh, another complexity in the selling process. “I do this every morning, seven days a week, even if I am out of the country,” Vogel said.
Instead of increasing the selection, the company would like to focus on the seafood products that sell best on AmazonFresh, which executives have determined over the past year. The top seller on AmazonFresh is seafood salads such as Poke Salad and other prepared items, such as ceviches, made fresh in Santa Monica’s commissary. Fresh shellfish and finfish have the second highest grossing sales, while cocktail sauces, marinades and other jarred items sell worst, according to Vogel.
“I’ve seen a change in consumer buying habits, even in my retail markets. When we ask customers buying fresh seafood if they would like a salad or sauce, more and more I am hearing, ‘I saw something on the internet or on the Food Network that I’m going to try.’ People are creating their own,” Vogel said.
