U.S. shoppers continue to include avocados in their holiday party planning as evidenced in the Hass Avocado Board’s latest Holiday Recap for Q4. The HAB releases Holiday Recap reports for each quarter in its initiative to make avocados America’s most popular fruit.
Thanksgiving was a standout holiday in the latest report, showing an increase of 33 percent in dollar sales and 55 percent in volume vs. 2018. Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday weeks reached a minimum of 37 million units per holiday.
The HAB Holiday Recap is a part of a large collection of available retail sales reports, data and shopper and consumer research that has been curated by the Hass Avocado Board. These insights have been designed to assist retailers in the planning and decision making surrounding the Hass avocado category. These resources, including the Holiday Recap report, are available at hassavocadoboard.com.
Halloween kicked off the fall holiday season and retailers can look at 2019 sales information to forecast for this year. Halloween dollar sales ticked up in 2019 reaching $43 million. In fact, 2019 sales topped 2016 by 30 percent in dollars and 91 percent in units. On average, avocado retailers saw sales of 420 units per store during the week of Halloween with the West, California and South Central exceeding the national average.
The Thanksgiving holiday revolves around family and food. With that in mind, 2019 avocado sales reached a four-year sales high. Thanksgiving posted 37.4 million units and $40.5 million, which was a 55 percent increase in volume and a 33 percent increase in dollar sales over 2018. It’s important to note that the 2018 Thanksgiving holiday may have had limited supply in the marketplace. Additionally, all regions showed double-digit dollar gains and double-digit volume sales, which is notable for planning during a year with ample supply.
Wrapping up the 2019 holiday season were Christmas and New Year’s Eve holiday weeks. Christmas rang in nearly $40 million and 37 million units, while New Year’s Eve showed nearly $40 million and 42 million units. On average, avocado retailers saw sales of 388 units per store during the Christmas holiday week, while New Year’s Eve saw a national average of 441 units per store. For both holidays, the West, California and South Central regions reached per store unit sales that were above the national averages.
The Hass Avocado Board releases a holiday recap each quarter, covering avocado sales trends for the corresponding holidays and events. HAB offers these insights and detailed retail information as the only avocado organization that equips the entire industry for success, with clear and actionable data and metrics that all can use to drive their avocado business. For more information about avocado sales for each holiday, visit hassavocadoboard.com.
