Top-performing cherry retailers utilize significantly different sales and merchandising approaches than low-performing retailers, according to a new analysis released by Columbia Marketing International. The report identifies key differences between top and bottom performing retailers in U.S. markets, revealing strategies leading supermarket chains use to drive cherry sales and volume growth.

According to Steve Lutz, vice president of marketing for CMI, the study evaluated cherry category performance data in retail chains all over the U.S.

“There are some critically different approaches used by top retailers to drive cherry sales that supermarket chains at the back of the pack simply don’t use," Lutz said in a press release. "The study indicates that the cherry merchandising, pricing and promotional tools consistently used by top-performing supermarkets can be implemented by just about any retailer of any size. But these tools are missing in low-performing stores.”

Lutz said the study reveals how consumers can be particularly fickle during the cherry season. The research shows that when consumers reach the retail shelf they react impulsively to cherry displays and pricing. Cherry buyers are very cognizant of retail price promotions for all summer fruits. The result is in-store pricing can actually create incentives for consumers to switch away from cherries, resulting in a lower overall fruit transaction.

“If retailers aren’t careful they can inadvertently incentivize consumers to reduce cherry purchases, substituting lower-priced or discounted competitive fruits in place of cherries," Lutz said. "The data clearly shows the inevitable result is lower dollar performance for the store.”  He added that the most successful retailers actually boost performance during the short cherry season by maintaining strong shelf position and attractive everyday pricing to encourage consumers to trade up to cherries.

The study also details how cherry performance can have a significant effect on overall fruit performance for retailers.

“An analysis of loyalty card data shows that the average transaction size for cherries is $6.18 compared to only $4.77 for berries, $4.46 for grapes and $3.38 for stone fruit,“ said Lutz. “This large average transaction size makes the cherry category incredibly dynamic with immediate opportunities for nearly every retailer to increase sales.”

The study results indicate that other key factors in driving cherry category performance are the use of secondary displays and expanded category assortment. According to Lutz, the study shows retailers with more package choices beyond random-weight bags enjoy significantly stronger sales. In addition, he said stores that use secondary displays “generated 31 percent higher dollar performance in Rainier cherries and 18 percent higher dollar performance in red cherries.”

“When you drill down on the store specific data, it is very apparent that decisions made at the management level are influencing cherry category sales success or even failure,” said Lutz. “Top performing chains are not only more successful with cherries, they are more successful from day one of the season right through to the end of August. They have dialed in on the tactics and they are throttling their competition. When you consider that on average cherries generate 14 percent of all summer fruit retail dollars, there is a huge upside to optimizing cherry performance.”

Lutz said that the full report will be released to CMI customers. Inquiries to obtain the report should be directed to Steve Lutz at [email protected].