Frozen food sales at retail stores in the United States were up a whopping 38.2% during the 13-week period through May 30, 2020, compared to the same timeframe the year before, according to Nielsen. Average unit prices rose 10.1%.
During the same period, seafood sales advanced 26% as unit prices rose 4.1%, reported the measurement and data analytics company. For the one-week period ending on May 30, interestingly, seafood was the top performer by far as sales surged 47.9% compared to 25% for the frozen food category. Some analysts have attributed this spike to rising red meat prices, as the meat department charted a one-week sales gain of 15.5% compared to 38.6% over the past 13 weeks. During the last quarter the average unit price for meat rose by 15.6%.
Here are 13-week sales and price statistics tabulated in other departments: Dairy, +27.4%, up 8.5% in unit price; Produce, +18.7%, up 2.7%; Grocery, +26.1%, up 6.5%; Deli, +1.6%, up 4.1%; Bakery, -5%, unit price up 16.7%.
