Grocery sales have seen a 4.4% rise this month, as shoppers are seen buying more to accommodate the UK’s rising temperatures over the summer months, according to new data.
The figures recorded by data and analytics leader, NielsenIQ found that over the four week period ending 16 July, the Big 4 grocers saw an overall 2.7% sales increase, its highest since April 2021, the end of the first Covid-19 lockdown period.
The data also revealed figures hit 5.6% in the week ended 16 July
As sales have surged, the most popular FMCG products added to consumers baskets included mineral water which was up 28%, followed by ice cream and sandwiches up 24%.
Other top items include prepared salads and prepared fruits, many of which cater to a change in weather and summer lifestyle.
However, despite a lift in grocery sales, volume sales fell by 4.1% as rising inflation is continuing to see consumers unable to afford every item of their usual weekly shop.
The products which saw the largest drop in sale by volume include meat, fish and poultry down by 9.4%, followed by packaged grocery at -6.4%.
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The decline comes as 90% of consumers are watching what they spend more closely and 62% agree that food and grocery costs is their second biggest cause of monetary concern behind utility bills.
As a result, spend per visit was also down by 5% as consumers are looking to reduce the size of the products they buy or change to different grocery items to cut costs.
“Shopping around is now a key coping strategy for households, who are looking to save money. However, with the start of the summer heatwave, we’ve seen UK consumers shopping more often, which has led to a stronger trading period over the last four weeks,” NielsenIQ’s UK head of retailer and business insight, Mike Watkins said.
“The worrying pressure on sales volumes is expected to continue throughout the summer period and exacerbated due to the holidays, with more Brits travelling abroad than last year.
“This means that the key battleground for retailers will be on who can attract the most shoppers with inspiring media campaigns to build on the ongoing shopping trend to shop little and more often.
“This will be important for sustaining growth when shoppers revert to their usual shopping patterns after the holidays and importantly, cope with even higher household bills.”
