M&S was a big winner over the golden quarter, becoming one of the fastest-growing supermarkets, industry data has revealed.
NIQ’s Total Till report has found that M&S’ sales surged 12.1% over the 12 weeks as almost 29% of households shopped at the retailer in December this year as it won half a million new shoppers.
The premium retailer was only beaten by German discounter Lidl, in which sales over the 12 weeks rose 15.3%. Fellow discounter Aldi UK’s sales were also up 11.4%, increasing the two supermarkets’ combined market share to 20.1%.
Sales across the grocery retailers reached a record-breaking £4.8bn during the festive period, a 4.3% uplift in sales compared to Christmas 2022. Data showed that over the four weeks to the 30 December, across all channels, shoppers spent £657m more on groceries compared to last year.
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Other UK supermarkets also experienced strong trading, with Tesco sales up 7.4% and Sainsbury’s revenue up 8.7% as it increased market share over the 12 weeks to 14.3%.
NIQ’s UK, head of retailer and business insight Mike Watkins said: “With a full week of shopping before Christmas Day and then the benefit of another week to spend in the build-up to New Year’s Eve, it was an omnichannel Christmas. Shoppers mixed and matched across the month to take advantage of the convenience of an early online delivery or click and collect and then store visits for last-minute shopping for fresh and festive food for family, friends and the new year celebrations.”
According to NIQ, shoppers also economised on essentials to afford Christmas indulgencies, with affordable treats such as crackers and savoury biscuits, ice cream, pickles and olives and antipasti all up 15%
In comparison, sales of beers, wines and spirits were disappointing, with the sales of champagne down 5.8%, port 4.3%, sparking wine 2.7% and spirits 2% .
Watkins added: “However, with shoppers spending around 18% more on their groceries than two years ago, many were mindful of overspending, economised early in the quarter and overall bought less volume in eight out of the 12 weeks. With low everyday pricing and loyalty card savings now key strategies across the industry, retailers will need to refocus on how they differentiate and offer other reasons to choose their stores to help sales growth and rebuild store equity.”
NIQ expects total till growth to be 5% over the next year.
“Looking ahead, it’s likely that the cautious shopper sentiment seen in 2023 will continue for the first part of 2024 but from late Spring onwards we can anticipate confidence slowly improving.”
