Online grocery sales continue to grow, benefitting fresh and frozen seafood products, according to a new report.
Research firm IBISWorld projects that online grocers’ revenue will increase by 8.3 percent in 2012 to reach USD 6 billion. Fresh seafood sales will generate an estimated USD 154.5 million in revenue for the online grocery industry in 2012, while frozen seafood sales will account for around USD 90 million in this year, according to IBISWorld. In fact, meat, fish, poultry, and deli items account for 14 percent of all online grocery sales.
“We are seeing growth in the seafood segment, partly due to health concerns. Consumers are becoming more health conscious and seafood is a healthier alternative to red meat,” said Nikoleta Panteva, senior analyst with IBISWorld.
IBISWorld also found that the seafood wholesaling industry will grow by 7.6 percent to USD 13.5 billion in 2012, despite seafood price hikes. That is a terrific signal for the industry, which realized a revenue drop of 13.8 percent in 2010, due in part to the effects from the BP oil spill and to decreased consumer spending. “Distance from the BP oil spill and recovering consumer spending will boost revenue [in 2012],” according to a statement from IBISWorld’s “Fish & Seafood Wholesaling in the U.S.” report.
Meanwhile, IBISWorld projects revenues for the online grocery industry to grow at an annual rate 9.5 percent, reaching USD 9.4 billion in 2017. “As unemployment decreases, people are going to have less time to go grocery shopping at their leisure,” Panteva said.
From 2007 to 2012, online grocery sales grew at a much smaller rate of 1.2 percent per year, hampered by a 2.6 percent drop in 2008 and a 4.1 percent decline in 2009. However, since early 2010, industry performance has improved.