Summer cherry season is a fast-paced race for both the grower-shipper and retailer. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Retail Report, the first cherry ads of the 2017 season started the week of April 21 and wrapped up Sept. 22.
During those 22 weeks, an average of 4,356 stores had cherries on ad, with the peak week happening July 7, with 27,781 stores on ad.
This year's season is running about a week behind, with the first ads hitting the week of April 27, and a crop estimated down double-digits from last year.
Thirty-four percent of Fresh Trends 2018 shoppers said they bought cherries in the past 12 months, down three percentage points from the 2017 survey. Cherries ranked No. 13 on the list of Top 20 fruits.
