4 Things Florida Publix Shoppers Experience in the Winter

Publix’s annual report to federal regulators lists the historical influx of winter residents to Florida as one reason its sales typically rise every winter.

The everyday shopper can feel Publix shift in the winter from its aisles to its staffing.

Here are four things Publix shoppers in Florida experience in the winter that aren’t the case in the summer.

1. A Six-Month Sales Bump

Publix says its sales typically rise from November to April, and it names winter residents as one of the reasons.

That line sits in the company’s annual report for the fiscal year that ended December 27, 2025, which Publix filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in March 2026.

The filing pairs that influx with the extra buying around Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter.

Together, it says, those two causes typically result in seasonal sales increases from November to April of each year.

That stretch runs six months, and the filing gives the two causes together without saying how much each one adds.

It also describes the company as a whole, so it doesn’t single out the stores you shop at.

For scale, Publix reported retail sales of $62.7 billion for 2025, and it runs about 900 of its roughly 1,440 stores in Florida.

Winter residents are one of two named causes.

Two causes, one stretch.

2. A Seasonal Hiring Wave

Publix has hired seasonal help for the winter months, and a Progressive Grocer report shows one season of it.

For the December 2011 through April 2012 season, Publix said it would hire 575 seasonal associates across 41 stores in 12 southwest Florida cities.

The company described that time of year as hard to staff because of a sharp increase in customers.

The report doesn’t link that hiring to winter residents.

Applicants for those jobs had to be at least 18, free on nights and weekends, and able to work 25 to 35 hours a week.

That was an offer of jobs, not a count of people hired, so the report tells you what Publix planned.

The same report says 2010 was the first year Publix offered that kind of temporary work.

Of that year’s seasonal hires, 94 percent rated the experience “Good” or “Very Good.”

A December 2024 post on Publix’s jobs site lists the seasonal roles as cashiers, stock clerks, and bakery and deli associates.

The post pitches the jobs to students on school breaks, retirees who want to stay active, and anyone seeking extra income.

That post ties seasonal work to back-to-school, the holiday rush and summer, and it never mentions winter.

A Publix seasonal application page for one store in Hobe Sound says the work period may last up to five months after the start date.

Help wanted.

3. Florida Strawberry Season

Publix treats December through April as fresh strawberry season, a window the company described to trade publication Produce Business in January 2022.

The same story reported that Publix merchandises Florida strawberries in its stores across the South.

That December-to-April window sits inside the November-to-April stretch from Publix’s annual report.

Berries aren’t the only winter crop Publix has talked up.

In a 2017 story from Produce Business, which the magazine updated in 2024, Publix said mild winters make fall and winter an exceptional growing season in Florida.

The crops it listed included peppers, cucumbers, beans, squash, eggplant, zucchini and potatoes.

If you shop the produce department in January, you’re shopping in the middle of both windows.

Fresh Florida berries.

4. A Bigger Citrus Push

This fall, Produce Business reported that Publix would hold in-store sampling events for "Fresh From Florida" produce, including Florida tangerines.

"Fresh From Florida" is a marketing program run by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, not a Publix brand.

The program has more than 100 retail partners in more than 10,000 stores across 23 countries.

Publix and Winn-Dixie were also set to start running shopping cart ads in November 2025, two months earlier than in 2024.

Those ads carry the tagline "Fresh Flavor is Always Grown Local" over images of Florida produce.