Data: Supermarket shoppers are ‘spending more to buy less’ this Christmas

Supermarket shoppers have been spending more despite buying less as double-digit inflation drives a 7.6% increase in total till sales, according to the latest data from NielsenIQ.

The figures for the four-week period ending 3 December have revealed that cautious consumers have been buying less in the run-up to Christmas, with a 4.3% fall in volume sales across the major grocers.

The increased spend is up from last month’s increase of 5.3%, as the data reveals that shoppers are focusing on core grocery essentials in a bid to balance the books against other Christmas costs, such as present buying and entertaining.

Categories which have seen a lift in value growth include dairy (13.9%), crisps and snacks (12.7%), pet
food (12.5%), frozen food (11.9%), soft drinks (10%) and packaged grocery (9.2%).


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Beer, wines and spirits – a key category at this time of year – saw both value and volume decline by 1.5% and 3.6% respectively, although the World Cup helped beer sales grow 3.1% against last year. Nielsen attributed the category decline to trade challenges and tough comparisons due to the Omicron surge in the UK last December.

Discounters have continued to gain momentum over the past 12 weeks, with Lidl sales growing by 12.9% and Aldi at 12.4%

The Co-op saw an 8.8% growth in sales as it benefited from consumers managing budgets by shopping locally. Sales were also stronger at Iceland (7.6%) as consumers turn to frozen food to reduce waste in the face of rising energy prices and other inflationary concerns.

Asda’s sales grew by 7.7% over the period, with Sainsbury’s and Tesco reporting an increase of 6.6% and 6.5% respectively.

Online sales fell 1.3%, with the online share of FMCG spend holding firm at 11.3%, down from 12.3% this time last year. In contrast, there was strong growth in brick and mortar, with sales up 9.3% and visits to stores up by 7.4%.

NielsenIQ’s UK head of retailer and business insight Mike Watkins, said: “With double digit food inflation, shoppers will be spending more to buy less this Christmas but there are now a number of new coping strategies to help meet increased costs.

“These include wasting less food, shopping little and more often as well as taking advantage of the many savings being offered by retailer loyalty schemes.

“However, it is what shoppers are putting into their baskets that is the most revealing. By trading down, for instance to private label, lower-priced items or buying different pack sizes, a third of the increased price of the typical shopping basket for the savvy shopper can be saved.”

Watkins also predicted that, with “seasonal spend increasing every week”, sales at the grocery multiples could be around £12.6 billion in the next four weeks “if current momentum is maintained”. This would be the highest yet, with spend during Christmas week (ending 24 December) topping £4 billion for the first time.

Even with value sales at this record level, Watkins expects volume sales to fall by around 4% at the supermarkets this Christmas, with “discounters expected to exceed 19% market share for the first time”.

FMCGNewsSupermarkets

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