New data from Kantar suggests that supermarkets had their most bustling Christmas period since before the pandemic hit.
According to Kantar's research, customers made a staggering 488 million trips for groceries in the four weeks leading up to December 24th, marking a notable surge in shopping activity.
Despite a decrease in food price inflation to 6.7% in December, which Kantar highlighted as the fastest drop it has ever recorded, a substantial £13.7 billion was spent during this period.
While the average expenditure per British household reached £477, many still faced significant budgetary constraints.
Kantar labeled the Christmas trading period as "a whopper," highlighting Friday, December 22nd, as the most popular day, witnessing over 25 million trips to stores.
The demand for traditional Christmas dinner essentials surged in 2023, with increased volumes of parsnips, sprouts, potatoes, and festive meats like pigs in blankets, sausages, hams, and turkeys.
Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar, noted, "We're creatures of habit when it comes to Christmas and our data shows that the classic festive plate remains much the same." However, McKevitt added that mince pies and Christmas puddings were less popular this year, deviating from the trend.
A recent BBC study revealed a 25% rise in the price of mince pies, attributing it to increased expenses in wages, packaging, and production for bakers.
Retailers used promotions extensively during the festive period to attract shoppers, with nearly a third of total spending directed toward items with some form of offer.
Household grocery spending increased by an average of £28 compared to December 2022, accompanied by a 2% rise in the quantity of items purchased.
In the battle for customers, Tesco, Sainsbury's, Aldi, and Lidl all expanded their market share, with Sainsbury's reaching its highest market share since December 2020 at 15.8%, experiencing a 9.3% sales increase. Tesco now holds 27.6% of the market, with a sales growth of 7.5%.
"Supermarkets saw especially strong performances for their own-label lines, with sales of premium ranges like Sainsbury's Taste the Difference and Tesco Finest surging by 11.9% compared with last year to hit £790m - accounting for 5.7% of all grocery sales," mentioned McKevitt.
On a contrasting note, rival discount supermarket chains Aldi and Lidl reported "record" Christmas trading. Aldi's British arm surpassed £1.5bn in sales for the first time in the four weeks leading up to Christmas Eve, while Lidl claimed its best Christmas performance since entering the British market in 1994.
Analysts pointed out that despite elevated costs, the surge in sales reported by stores was unsurprising. Photo by Pierrette13, Wikimedia commons.