Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute has released a study
saying there are opportunities for retailers to improve sales, and make more
than $300 million annually, if they adopt optimal promotion strategies.
The study analyzed sales performance of 60 large- and
mid-sized food retail chains in three major Alaska seafood categories- wild
salmon, cod and crab, including king, snow and Dungeness. Retailers were scored
on how much of the total sales volume they were getting in their marketplace,
sales velocity, promotions and retail prices, then sorted to compare the top 10
with the 10 lowest performing retailers.
Best of class retailers’ wild salmon sales were correlated
with better total seafood department sales performance.
The study found that when wild salmon is offered on a
year-round basis at the seafood counter, sales of both wild and farmed salmon
improve. The best retailers also promoted salmon more frequently over longer
time periods, but at smaller discounts for overall better sales and profit
performance.
Best of class retailers in cod sales generated better total
finfish category sales. They promoted cod twice as often and at slightly larger
discounts, and generated better total finfish category sales.
Best of class practices could also generate sales improvement
in all three crab species, ASMI said.
Top retailers of snow crab generated better total shellfish category
sales.
The study by Encore Associates of San Ramon, California,
compared sales for the 52-week period ending on Oct. 6, 2013, and covered the
continental United States.
ASMI retail marketing director Larry Andrews is also
offering to meet with seafood department sales, retail buyers, merchandisers
and marketing teams to review this data to increase their sales. Reach him via
email at landrews@alaskaseafood.org
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