The UK is set to see its biggest ever week for food sales as shoppers are predicted to spend £5bn on food during Christmas week at the UK’s leading supermarkets.
According to the latest data from NIQ, grocery sales growth is expected to peak over the seven days to 24 December.
It comes as total till sales growth at UK supermarkets slowed to 6.8% in the four weeks to 2 December as shoppers prioritised saving and delaying spend to take advantage of seasonal promotions in the coming weeks.
NIQ found that as inflation has slowed, promotional activity has increased 25%, up from 23% last year, with more than a third (38%) of branded sales across all FMCG goods purchased on promotions in the past four weeks and 16% across private label.
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As a result, promotional spend reached its highest level since February 2020.
Online grocery shopping grew 8.2% in the period compared with in-store shopping up 5.2%, which boosted online market share to 11.5%, up from 11.2% last month.
Meat and poultry was named the fastest growing category over the period with sales up 10.1% and confectionery sales grew 10.2% as shoppers ready themselves for Christmas celebrations.
Across the retailers themselves, Sainsbury’s was the highest performing of the ‘big four’ over the last 12 weeks while Lidl and Aldi continues to maintain their position as the fastest growing retailers, up 17.3% and 14.3% respectively.
NIQ UK head of retailer and business insight Mike Watkins said: “We know that almost three quarters of households think retailer promotions are important when choosing where to make their grocery shop at Christmas.
“NIQ research also shows that loyalty points play a significant role in helping shoppers save money over the festive period with over half of shoppers look for personalised loyalty card prices and promotions and 38% cash in loyalty points saved throughout the year.
“The key for retailers is to get the basics right to dish up a successful Christmas; low price, quality, and availability are the top drivers that are important to shoppers when planning where to do their main Christmas grocery shop.”
