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Dairy sales up at retail level since beginning of COVID-19
The dairy checkoff program says the COVID-19 pandemic brought changes to consumer buying patterns.
Tom Gallagher with Dairy Management Inc. says there are multiple reasons why people bought what they bought during the spring panic buying. He says when COVID-19 arrived, fewer people ate their breakfast on-the-go, which is good for the dairy industry. “I think with more and more people, probably forever, eating breakfast at home instead of on-the-go, that is an opportunity for us.”
Gallagher says breakfast cereal sales have been sliding for years because of sugar content and the difficulty of eating it on-the-go, affected fluid milk sales, but cereal and milk sales increased during the pandemic.
David Mounts of Inmar Intelligence says dairy retail sales are also up from March through July because of how people shop since the outbreak began. “The consumer is making less trips and buying more each time they go to the store. Our total sales are up ten percent versus a year ago. In May, retailers are up much, much higher numbers than that.”
And, Mounts says shoppers have moved from “list buying to solutioning” with dairy as an anchor for stocking up at home. He says consumers have also doubled enrollment in online shopping programs.
Gallagher and Mounts spoke during a recent Dairy Management Inc. conference call with reporters
