Signs are pointing to an uptick in holiday produce purchases, Robinson Fresh predicts, with large family gatherings driving demand for both fruit and vegetables.
Beyond the holiday season, Robinson Fresh expects retailers and foodservice companies to rely more heavily on demand forecasting tools in 2024 to help navigate the ups and downs of consumers’ buying patterns, according to a news release.
For the Christmas season, Robinson Fresh expects consumers will spend at levels similar to 2022, the release said. A recent survey by Numerator found that 80% of consumers expect to purchase food for their holiday celebrations and 87% expect to spend the same or more than last year.
While vegetables dominate at Thanksgiving, fruit tends to be more popular at Christmas, with apples, pineapples, citrus and avocados being a few of the top-selling items in the two weeks before Christmas, the release said.
“Even with the consumer dollar under pressure, signs point to a strong Christmas season for retailers with spending projected to come in near or slightly better than 2022 levels,” Jose Rossignoli, president of Robinson Fresh, said in the release. “We continue to see an uptick in online sales reinforcing the need for retailers — both big and small — to incorporate an omnichannel approach in order to create a cohesive physical and digital shopping experience that is easy and frictionless for shoppers. A digital presence, coupled with strong loyalty offers, will help retailers draw consumers, both in-store and online, seeking fruits and vegetables for their holiday celebrations.”
Looking ahead to 2024, Robinson Fresh said that advanced technology used for practices such as demand forecasting will be key in 2024. Tech solutions, such as artificial intelligence, advanced analytics and automation will continue to grow in importance and can benefit retailers around the holidays and year-round, the release said.
If used effectively, these tools will make it more efficient to ensure shelves are stocked adequately, thus helping reduce over or under supply, the company said.
Robinson Fresh said surety of supply continues to increase in importance with global supply chain disruptions caused by climate change and unrest in traditional growing regions.
As retailers and the food service industry work to keep their shelves stocked, providers need to be able to open up new growing regions and ensure transportation of those goods to the market through temperature-controlled transportation providers, the release said.
Reduction of costs across the perishable supply chains is also top-of-mind for retailers and foodservice companies in 2024, the company said. There has been an increase in refrigerated goods moving through the supply chain, which has led to a shortage of available warehouse space, causing the cost of existing warehouse space to rapidly rise thus increasing overall supply chain costs, the release said.
Robinson Fresh says it works to mitigate these costs by helping design more efficient supply chains and incorporating new capacity as it comes online.
“Supply chain data, transparency and customer trust all play an increasingly critical part in the foodservice, grocery retailer and consumer relationship,” Rossignoli said in the release. “This is especially important to our customers right now as they look for more efficient and effective ways to adjust to consumers’ ever-changing buying patterns.
“As we look ahead to 2024, we’ve heard our customers’ need for greater technology solutions, such as tools to help with demand forecasting, to ensure they can be agile and respond quickly to market fluctuations,” he continued. “At Robinson Fresh we are thrilled to have the product, technology and supply chain solutions to keep their shelves stocked, optimize sales and ensure customer loyalty.”
Robinson Fresh delivers more than 25,000 orders to 14,000 locations every day and serves customers through fresh produce sourcing and end-to-end supply chain services, the release said.
