WENATCHEE, WA – While apple sales may have sulked this February, according to Stemilt’s latest Fruit Tracker™ Fast Facts video analysis, retailers still have room to boost their ring at the register. Sales of apples fell 5.4 percent when compared with February 2016, and, while apple volume was up slightly year-over-year, all regions except the East fell short of 2016 category performance.

“February is historically a strong month for apple sales,” said Brianna Shales, Communication Manager. “Retailers sold 59 pounds of apples more on average in February, but brought in $190 dollars less weekly than in February 2016. This year’s larger crop and fruit size is ripe with opportunities for promotion, especially on the bulk side.”

Bulk is the primary purchasing method for apples, and that remained true in 2017 with 59.1 percent of sales coming from bulk apples. 40.9 percent were sold in bags—predominately three and five pound varieties that made up 77.6 percent of dollar sales on bags.

Gala, Fuji, Red Delicious, Granny Smith, and Honeycrisp made up the top five apple varieties—with 28.2, 13.8, 12.3, 11.6, and 11.1 percent of sales, respectively, according to a press release. Gala was up a sizeable 5.2 percent year-over-year, while Honeycrisp sales grew by 2.6 percent from the year prior.

“The increase in February sales of Honeycrisp is a result of increased volume and season extension of this popular apple. It’s a trend we expect to continue to see happen in future years,” said Shales. “Club apples are an important part of the apple category, and there are still opportunities to promote them this spring. Our signature variety, Piñata®, will be available through May and we are seeing some of the best fruit of the year right now coming out of storage, with great color and dessert eating qualities.”

Retail prices were down for most of the top-selling club apple varieties in February 2017—with the exception of Jazz, Piñata®, Kiku Fuji, and Lady Alice varieties. The retail price for Lady Alice was up 16.2 percent while Piñata® was up 10.8 percent from February 2016, at $1.74 per pound. Meanwhile, average retail price for all apples in the U.S. fell from $1.74 per pound in February 2016 to $1.60 in February 2017.

Along with promotions for club apples, Stemilt recommends retailers run multi-variety bulk promotions on apples now to reignite the category. While apples accounted for an average of 6.8 percent of produce sales nationally in January 2017, that number dropped to 6.5 percent by February of this year.

Shales noted that one additional promotion could, in fact, spark both volume and sales of apples and prevent sales from slumping.

“Apples are an important part of the produce department all year long,” said Shales. “At Stemilt, we have a variety of merchandising options to help retailers capture more apple sales this spring. Bulk is a must, and we also recommend sparking the category by segmenting apples to each consumer group–Lil Snappers® for parents, Fresh Blenders™ for health nuts, and Apple Lover bags for those shoppers who love apples.”

For more on the state of the apple category and recommendations on how to boost sales, stay tuned to AndNowUKnow.

Stemilt Growers