In addition to emphasizing prepared foods, discounts, marketing, and education — particularly appealing to shoppers who are preparing more meals a home — will be key to growing seafood sales this year.

According to Circana, 55% of grocery shoppers look for specials more often, and 37% are switching to private label more often.

Importantly, due to the economy, more shoppers are preparing meals at home, according to Circana and FMI’s U.S. Grocery Shopper Trends.

Holiday Season found that 31% of consumers say they are preparing meals at home more often, while more than half plan to cook and eat more meals at home in the coming year.

“As the trend towards preparing more meals at home continues, 60% of shoppers report that they are eating out less, and just 14% of shoppers say they plan to dine out more in 2024. The good news is, buying ingredients and preparing meals at home continues to be the most economical option for Americans looking to stretch their food dollar further.”

When shopping for home meals, more consumers are seeking out healthy ingredients, according to the National Frozen & Refrigerated Foods Association (NFRA) recent “Eating at Home” report — a fact that is likely to boost seafood sales.

The report found 66% said taste or flavor determine the foods they put in their carts, while 65% said the quality of the groceries and 49% said healthiness.

This article is an excerpt from the January 2024 issue of Supermarket Perimeter. You can read the entire 2024 Seafood Forecast and more in the digital edition here.