Price check: Momentum builds as July 4 promotions near
Retailers offered fewer sales this past week as they took a break before the upcoming Fourth of July promotion period. Peaches, nectarines, cherries and grapes had some of the sweetest deals for shoppers looking for freshness on a budget, and watermelons, cantaloupes, honeydews and specialty melons were plentiful.
The bounty of new crop offerings didn't stop with fruit, as sweet corn, zucchini, yellow squash, tomatoes, asparagus and cucumbers were available from local and regional farms across the country. Many flyers featured Fourth of July party supplies and fireworks.
Total ad numbers this week were 257,039, a 6 percent decrease from last week's total of 272,973. The total for the same week last year was 13 percent higher at 296,072. The total number of ads broken out by commodity groups were fruit 148,523 (58 percent), onions and potatoes 19,123 (7 percent), vegetables 84,044 (33 percent), herbs 549, ornamentals 809 and hemp 4,540. The number of ads for organic produce was 32,492, 13 percent of total ads.
Compared to the same week last year there were significant increases in the advertised price for
- seedless grapes (white at 46 percent, red at 15 percent),
- cucumbers at 22 percent
- Russet potatoes (five-pound bag) at 16 percent
- red cherries at 14 percent
- round mangos at 13 percent
- blackberries (5.6- to six-ounce) at 11 percent
- yellow crookneck/straightneck squash at 11 percent
- strawberries (one-pound) at 10 percent
- asparagus at 10 percent
Compared to the same week last year there were significant decreases in the advertised price for
- tangerines (three-pound) at 16 percent
- red seedless watermelons at 11 percent
