A spell of hot summer weather in late June, England's progression to the final of the Euro 2024 soccer championship, and increased promotions on branded goods have boosted UK grocery

sales over the past month, according to new industry data released on Wednesday.

Market researcher NIQ reported that sales at UK supermarkets rose by 3.6% year-on-year for the four weeks ending July 13, a significant increase from the 1.1% growth reported last month.

This data provides the most recent insight into UK consumer behavior since the July 4 national election, which saw the Labour Party return to power after 14 years of Conservative governance.

NIQ noted that while overall promotional spending remained steady at 25%, the proportion of branded fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sold on promotion increased to 38%, up from 33% a year ago. Promotions were particularly prevalent in the beers, wines, and spirits categories, where they accounted for 51% of sales.

“The weather, events, and heightened promotional activity are the three major factors influencing shopper spending. Recently, all these elements have been in play,” said Mike Watkins, NIQ’s UK head of retailer and business insight.

The report also highlighted a 3.8% increase in online grocery sales over the four-week period, with the channel’s share of total sales rising to 12.9%, up from 12.7% a year ago.

Official data released last week revealed a greater-than-expected decline in overall British retail sales volumes for June.

In line with data from rival market researcher Kantar, NIQ reported that online grocer Ocado experienced the fastest growth, with sales up 12.9%, followed by Marks & Spencer with an 8.6% increase.

Market leaders Tesco, Sainsbury’s, discounter Lidl, and Waitrose all saw gains in market share. However, No. 3 player Asda lagged behind, with a 5.9% drop in sales and a loss of 1.1 percentage points in market share over the past year. Photo by Alan Stanton, Wikimedia commons.