Several new trends have emerged from the pandemic that could reshape the way seafood is bought, sold and packaged in the future, according to an analyst speaking at National Fisheries Institute's (NFI) online Global Seafood Marketing Conference on Monday.

"If the pandemic did anything, it was redefining how people shopped for groceries in many different ways," said Anne-Marie Roerink, a principal at 210 Analytics who provides research and marketing strategies in food retailing.

Major trends included US shoppers consolidating grocery store needs into fewer trips, while also growing the size of their purchases since March of 2020.

"All of a sudden a lot more dollars came to retail," she said, adding US consumers adjusted their shopping habits accordingly as more workers stayed home, with college students and children spending most of their time in homes as well versus at schools or in dormitories.

Spending less time eating out and more time outdoors has led to a "cooking fatigue," she explained, with seafood becoming more popular as a result.

She added unique economic conditions, where lower-income families were much harder-hit by the pandemic than middle- to upper-income families also fueled the buying conditions.

The market saw people focused on "money-saving measures on one hand, and premium purchases on the other," she said.

Retail sales surged in 2020 compared to 2019. That was largely driven by meat and seafood, according to data from 210 Analytics and IRI. Seafood sales benefited from frozen foods expanding to encompass 58.7 percent of the share of total store sales in 2020.

Fresh foods, meanwhile, accounted for 34.7 percent of total store sales. Frozen seafood in particular benefited from this trend, she said.

However, seafood in all categories -- fresh, frozen an shelf-stable -- offer a positive outlook, with all categories expected to see higher dollar sales over the next five years.

E-commerce takes the lead

Not surprisingly, grocery e-commerce sales made "massive inroads" in 2020, with 17 percent of US households reported as using "online as their way primary way to buy groceries." That's according to IRI and 210 Analytics data over 52-week period through December.

Around 19 percent of US consumers are expected to make their Thanksgiving grocery purchases online as well in 2021.

Over the last 26 weeks, fresh foods in e-commerce sales soared to $4 billion (€3.3 billion), a 99 percent increase compared to the prior year.

Chris DuBois, the senior vice president of Protein Practice in seafood and retail for IRI, said during the panel seafood e-commerce growth tripled in 2020, ending at $1.1 billion (€910 million). Consistent e-commerce growth was seen across all categories, with fresh seeing the highest growth at $1.7 million (€1.4 million).

Brick and mortar is not going away, it's growing

But brick and mortar retailers have not necessarily suffered from consumers shopping online.

The data also show 58 percent of that share of fresh e-commerce sales being from those same retailers.

In fact, the majority of e-commerce sales over the past 52 weeks have been from brick-and-mortar sites.

Roerink said Boomers and other demographics are now more involved in the e-commerce trend, which has been solidifying as a preferred purchasing choice in 2020.

"The market is shifting to people ordering from their local store," she said.

Phil Lempert, an analyst on consumer behavior, said the future of retail is going to continue to be an online shopping experienced intermixed with some in-person visits.

The 40,000-square-foot supermarket we all known today is going to be "cut in half," he said. Retailers will more and more, use that space for "micro-fulfillment centers managed by robots."

The future will also include consumers making appointments for grocery stores, even after the pandemic, with online shopping continuing to prevail as the preferred purchase method for brick and mortar items, he added.

Can seafood's record retail pace continue this year?

IRI's DuBois noted the data show seafood as "a category has really caught fire."

"It's broken through some consumer barriers," he said.

But DuBois also warned there is much to do to keep seafood's record purchasing streak in retailers in 2021.

With seafood e-commerce growth seeing a substantial uptick through 2020, he said it's essential for seafood companies to capture consumers during their first online purchase experience.

E-commerce shoppers exhibit higher loyalty to products and brands than in-store shoppers.

"The loyalty you see online is different than what you see in brick and mortar. It's more intense," he said.

Making products as easy as possible to locate online is also essential, as well as using purchasing opportunities to cross-promote other species and products.

DuBois also advised companies to be aware of the seemingly daily-changing economic forecast that will either allow consumers more mobility or keep them in a stay-home pattern.

Economists are predicting a "new normal" that could set in around six months after vaccines are widely accessible and distributed. The United States, so far, is anticipating to have vaccines available to the majority of residents by the summer.

DuBois said while retail has been benefitting from the lack of foodservice options, that could all change once restrictions are lifted. Both premium and super premium and value opportunities are also expected to grow in the K-shaped recovery economists expect. Retail e-commerce is also not expected to slow anytime soon.

Markets

Revolutionary shifts in seafood retailing are here to stay, experts say