Category update: July meat sales surge 7.3% amid holiday spending

Consumers apparently spent big on grilling in July, as total meat sales jumped 7.3%, to $8.1 billion, compared with July 2023, according to the latest monthly category reports from 210 Analytics and Circana.

A calendar shift this year led to increased sales for July 4^th celebrations in the first week of July, rather than sales being split between the last days of June and the first days of July last year, said Anne-Marie Roerink, principal at 210 Analytics.

“July was a very strong month for the meat department, especially on the fresh meat side,” she said.

Fresh beef and pork led the way, with dollar sales gains of 11.3% and 10.2%, respectively. Although inflation of 2.3% played a role, pound volumes were also up in mid-single digits for most fresh meat categories and were up 4.9% for the meat department overall.

Fresh chicken, the second largest fresh meat category behind beef, was up 4.7% in dollar sales and 4.1% in pounds sold.

Led by frankfurters and dinner sausage, processed meats also had a strong July, with overall dollars sales gains of 4% and pound sales growth of 2.5%. Ground beef, chicken, and turkey also notched strong sales growth in both dollars and pounds.

An ongoing shift away from restaurant dining, especially among lower-income consumers, also contributed to sales gains throughout the store, Roerink said.

Deli growth remains strong

The supermarket deli department continued to perform well, with overall dollar sales up 3.9%, led by dollar sales gains in deli entertaining and deli prepared, coming in at 8.2% and 5%, respectively. Deli cheese, led by strong growth in specialty cheese sales, also saw strong gains in July. Sales in both dollars and pounds were up 3.6% over year-ago levels.

Only deli meats continued to lag the overall sales growth of the department, with sales declines of 1.8% in both dollars and pounds. Service deli meat, which represents a little more than half of deli meat sales, had another slow month in July, with dollar sales down 4.6%. Pre-sliced deli meats made up for some of that decline, with dollar sales gains of 1.5% for the month.

The perimeter bakery department also posted gains for the month, driven in part by cookout necessities such as buns and rolls, which had dollar sales gains of 8.4%, relative to a year ago. Baked treats such as cakes, cookies, donuts, muffins, and croissants also posted growth in both dollars and units. Overall, the perimeter bakery notched sales growth of 2.2% in both dollars and units for the month.

Fresh produce posts 3.4% sales gains

Consumer demand for fresh produce spiked in the first week of July and remained strong throughout the month, with sales gains of 3.4% in both dollars and units.

Fresh fruit, fueled by double-digit sales gains in cherries, grapes, avocados, and mandarins, saw dollar sales growth of 4.6% in the month.

Fresh vegetables saw dollar sales gains of 2% and a 4.3% increase in pounds sold. Tomatoes, lettuce, onions, cucumbers, carrots, and broccoli all posted sales gains in both dollars and pounds. Deflation in potatoes drove dollar sales down 7.7%, although pound volume rose 7.8%. Likewise, although dollar sales of fresh corn were up 0.8%, pound sales rose 20.1% relative to a year ago.

Deflation hinders sales growth in frozen, seafood categories

The frozen department overall saw sales inch up 1.8% in dollars, to $6.8 billion, and 2.1% in units, as deflation hit some categories. Frozen processed meats were a standout in July, with dollar sales up 12.1%.

Sales of frozen meals, the largest category in the department, illustrated the impact of deflation, with dollar sales down 0.4% on a 0.7% increase in units sold. Desserts, meanwhile, posted dollar sales gains of 1.7% on a 2.3% gain in unit sales.

Other frozen categories posting sales gains for the month included fruits and vegetables, meat/poultry, and baked goods. Both seafood and beverage sales were down in both dollars and units.

Seafood sales overall suffered from deflation, with fresh seafood prices down 1% in July relative to a year ago, along with 2.2% price declines for frozen seafood and 4.2% for ambient seafood.

Lower prices helped drive pound volumes, however, as pound sales rose 0.7% for fresh seafood and 6% for ambient seafood. In terms of dollar sales, fresh seafood was down 0.2%, frozen was down 3.5%, and shelf-stable was up 1.5%.