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Retail Report Finfish, shrimp dominate year-end sales Total U.S., Nov. to Dec. 2011 1.8% Holiday buying heats up November presents opportunity for increased holiday seafood sales T he year-end holi- day season ac- counts for high sales and wide areas of opportunity across the fresh seafood depart- ment as consumers purchase high-value products for parties and family gatherings. When forecasting for the upcoming holiday season, it is important to know which holi- days drive sales, and where the opportunity for growth is highest. Te 2011 season ac- counted for 18.2 per- cent of total seafood department dollar sales in 2011, which was steady compared to the 2010 holiday November category dollar sales Weekly store sales, 2010 vs. 2011 $10,000 $14,000 $18,000 $22,000 $26,000 $30,000 Central East South West 2011 2010 Finfish Shrimp Other prepared seafood Crustaceans Mollusks Surimi seafood Sauces & seasonings Seafood side item Seafood dips & spreads Other seafood Meals 12.8% 16.5% 29.9% 29.3% 5.5% 1.8% 1.3% .6% .3% .2% season. Seafood was more heavily purchased during the second half of the season, as average weekly dollar sales dur- ing December were 64 percent higher than to- tal sales for November. Te month of No- vember presents a large opportunity for the seafood department to grow sales. Average weekly sales of $22,523 per store during the month was steady com- pared to the previous year. Weekly seafood sales in November were driven by fresh seafood, at $17,675 per store, followed by prepared seafood ($3,884 per store) and other sea- food ($963 per store). Seafood sales re- Total U.S. mained largely steady during the first three weeks of November, with a low point of $5,228 per store the week of Nov. 5, 2011. Tanksgiving week December category dollar sales Weekly store sales, 2010 vs. 2011 $10,000 $20,000 $30,000 $40,000 $50,000 $60,000 Central East South West 2011 2010 was the highest-selling week for the depart- ment during Novem- ber. Sales spiked to $6,115, which was steady compared to the previous year's sales during that same week. Te Eastern region Total U.S. had the highest con- tribution to seafood sales during Novem- ber, with an average of $37,516 per store per week. Like the national trend, fresh 18 SeaFood Business September 2012 accounted for the bulk of weekly sales in the Eastern region at $29,910 per store. Te Central region had the second highest weekly seafood sales for the month of November 2011 at $20,217 per store, followed by the Southern region at $19,800 and the West at $17,482. Fresh seafood accounted for the bulk of department sales in each region, however, other seafood, which includes products such as seafood sauces and seasonings, dips and spreads, and side items, grew 6.3 percent, due in part to 12 percent growth in the East, and 9 percent growth in the South. Te seafood depart- ment posted its high- est and lowest weekly dollar sales of the 2011 holiday season in De- cember. During the second half of the holi- day season, the depart- ment posted average seafood weekly sales of $36,901 per store, an increase of 3.3 percent compared to the previous year. As with the first half of the holiday season, fresh seafood dominat- ed weekly department Visit us online at www.seafoodbusiness.com