The supermarket deli on a wild roller coaster ride. After years of increasing revenues, prepared-foods activity is crashing as consumers switch to homemade meals as they seek safety and savings in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Sales of grab-and-go lunchmeats, meanwhile, are skyrocketing as shoppers look to get in and out of stores quickly to avoid interacting with other people. But the potential for healthy revenue gains in each sector remains strong. Deli operators, for instance, can attract more shoppers to the prepared-foods counter by leveraging newer recipes and merchandising techniques that create more excitement, says Chris DuBois, senior vice president of the protein practice for Information Resources Inc. (IRI), a Chicago-based market research firm. "Prepared foods has taken a monster hit," he says, "and retailers have to make it a big deal for shoppers to visit the department as many previous customers are no longer used to buying the selections."
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