US seafood inflation outpaces record grocery inflation

Overall grocery inflation reached a record in July, but inflation for seafood products outpaced total grocery inflation, according to new data.

The inflation hitting seafood products is outpacing total grocery inflation, and is up 16.8 percent in July versus a year ago, data and tech firm Numerator told SeafoodSource. Frozen seafood grocery prices also soared 14.4 percent versus a year ago – but shrimp and prawns are below the average rate of inflation, rising 8.5 percent.

Overall grocery inflation reached a record high of 15.4 percent in July, according to Numerator, driving overall speeding up 26 percent.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index also reported an increase of 10.9 percent in grocery inflation in July – above the 10.4 percent increase in June. Meat, poultry, fish, and egg prices rose 0.5 percent for the month.

Plus, the CPI food-at-home index rose 13.1 percent in July, the largest 12-month gain since the period through March 1979.

Amazon Prime Day drove a surge in online sales, spiking 90 percent for the week of Prime Day versus the same week a year ago, according to Numerator. Online sales jumped 103 percent among high income consumers that week.

However, in-store spending declined as consumers shopped online in July. In-store shopping dropped seven points compared to a 23 percent hike in June.

Due to inflation, consumers are cutting back on dining out. Restaurant traffic has been in a three-month decline, down 4.8 percent in June, according to Black Box Intelligence.

The average guest check increased by nearly 7 percent in June, which is double long-term norms, the data firm said.

Restaurants’ same-store sales growth was up 1.6 percent in June, a sharp decline from the increase of 4.9 percent reported in May and the lowest it has been since February of 2021, according to Black Box Intelligence.  

Photo courtesy of Joni Hanebutt/Shutterstock