Costco 4% market share and growing
Costco first entered the Australian market in 2009 and now has 15 warehouses and 1.5 million members. The US retailer operates a membership model costing $60 per year and this has proved successful in increasing loyalty and incentivising shopping trips to get the savings to offset the annual membership fee.
Shoppers are increasingly seeking promotions and limiting treats to manage the cost of living
Rising inflation and interest rates in Australia are influencing supermarket shopping habits, with cost-of-living pressures driving consumers to adopt resourceful strategies. This “new normal” includes a focus on value, where 60% of shoppers actively seek promotions, and 42% opt for cheaper cuts of meat. Many are limiting discretionary purchases, with a growing trend towards limiting …
Blueberries are expected to peak for 2-3 weeks, with retailers providing significant in-store fixture space and catalogue promotion.
Blueberries are expected to peak for 2-3 weeks, with retailers providing significant in-store fixture space and catalogue promotion. Strawberries have dropped volume week on week, but retail prices have come back with the expected pricing pressure from Blueberries. Raspberries have dropped volume nationally after the heat event, and Blackberries are behind week on week from a volume perspective.
Coles growth in international foods
Coles has seen a trend of customers eating out less due to cost of living pressures, which has fuelled the growth of meals at home and also ‘fake-away’ where customers home cook takeaway options.
Supply of Standard Blueberries (125g) in NSW has increased, but not as much as we expected with the cooler weather.
Supply of Standard Blueberries (125g) in NSW has increased, but not as much as we expected with the cooler weather. Premium continues to hit new records for demand at current price points. Raspberry volumes fall off a cliff week on week and Blackberry volume moves sideways with the long cane production out of Southeast QLD.
Blueberry volume lowers along with strawberries but raspberries on the rise.
Blueberries had the lowest volume in the last 104 weeks (even lower than the previous week’s record). Strawberries are fractionally down compared to the week before, Raspberries are significantly back compared to the week before, and Blackberries move sideways.
All berries head back up
All Berries are slightly back week on week with the exclusion of Blackberries which are slightly up.
Easter Weekend should bring good demand for berries.
Easter Weekend should see good demand for Berries before the school holidays, with limited supply across Blueberries and Strawberries. Raspberries and Blackberries continue to move sideways with the transition from Southern Production to the North.
Demand for strawberries flatlines, as raspberries ramp up.
Demand for strawberries has flatlined post-back-to-school, blueberries from New Zealand have been stop-start due to biosecurity clearance timelines, and raspberries are ramping up.
Inflation falls to 4.1% over the past year.
The latest figures released from the Reserve Bank of Australia showed a significant slowdown in Australia’s inflation rate over the last few months of the previous year, with consumer prices rising just 0.6% over the December quarter and 4.1% over the past year, marking the smallest quarterly rise since March 2021.
