August was ‘a very tough month’ for grocery unit sales

[Viable Food News Desk]

Publisher: Grocery Dive
Published: September 17, 2026
Source: Read at Grocery Dive
Category: Food Access

Circana data prepared by 210 Analytics found widespread unit-sales declines in August, especially in fresh foods. Fresh fruit volume sales fell 6.1% and fresh vegetable volume sales fell 4.2%. Meat department volume sales declined 2.3%, including a 5.6% drop in processed meat, while fresh seafood fell 1.9% and bakery fell 4.3%. Consumers shifted toward less perishable options, with frozen fruit and vegetables up 5.6% year over year and shelf-stable seafood up 5.7%. Food-at-home inflation was 2.7% in August.

Why this matters: Independent grocers that rely on fresh departments to attract shoppers may need to review pricing, promotions, and product mix as customers shift toward frozen and shelf-stable alternatives. The data also points to continued pressure on household food budgets.

This post summarizes and links to the original source. It does not reproduce the full article.