Sales review: fin fish

By Haley Hastings

Salmon is the most popular fin fish species, capturing nearly 40% of category sales.

The fin fish category contributed 37.8% to seafood department dollar sales for the 52 weeks ended December 27, steady compared to the previous year. Fin fish is made up of 16 categories, including top sellers salmon and tilapia. During the tracked period, fin fish dollar sales increased 3.6%, due in part to average retail price increases across the category.

Nationally, fin fish sales peaked during the Lenten season. The highest-selling week occurred the week of Ash Wednesday (the week ended March 8) at $3,389 per store, followed by the week ended March 15, at $3,311 per store. The week prior to the Easter holiday (the week ended April 19) was the third-best selling week for fin fish, at $3,140 per store. The lowest-selling week for fin fish occurred the week of Thanksgiving (the week ended Nov. 29) at $1,760 per store.

Fin fish posted the largest contribution to seafood sales in the Central region at 39.3% while the East region posted the highest average weekly fin fish sales at $3,742 per store, up 3% compared to the prior year. The South region posted the second-highest average weekly sales at $2,587 per store, up 1.7% compared to the previous year. The West region posted the largest year-over-year growth, up 7.4% to $2,250 per store per week.

The top-selling fin fish variety during the tracked period was salmon, with nearly 40% of total fin fish sales. Tilapia and catfish were the second and third largest contributors to fin fish dollar sales at 23.6% and 9.2%, respectively. Salmon posted average weekly dollar sales of $1,062, an increase of 8.9% compared to the previous year, due in large part to increases in pricing. Tilapia and catfish also posted retail price increases. This contributed to tilapia’s slight dollar sales decline of 2.9%, down to $631 per store per week. Catfish followed a similar pattern, selling $247 per store per week, a decrease of 2.7%. 

This sales review is provided by Nielsen Perishables Group. Based in Chicago, Nielsen Perishables Group specializes in retail measurement, analytics, marketing communications, category development, promotional best practices and shopper insights. For more information, contact Nielsen Perishables Group: Haley Hastings, (773) 929-7013; email: [email protected]