Avocados continue to fare better when compared to year-ago numbers, but they’re lagging behind the same comparisons to the overall fresh produce.
In fact, avocados almost lost their edge in the most recent weekly update from the Hass Avocado Board. Throughout the pandemic, the board has released a weekly report using scan data from research firm IRI, Chicago.
The most recent report, for the week ending June 28, shows that avocado sales were just 0.14% over sales for the same week a year ago. That’s a significant drop from the weeks prior to that, when avocado sales were up 11.2% (June 7), 10% (June 14) and 6.5% (June 21) than year-ago numbers.
For the week ending June 28, the overall fresh produce department sales were up 11% from a year ago, according to IRI.
As with other items in the fresh produce department, especially vegetables, consumer shopping habits during the pandemic have boosted sales. According to IRI, avocado sales are about 9% up in 2020, compared to year-to-date sales at the same time in 2019.
