Lidl and M&S retained their crowns as the UK’s fastest-growing supemarkets this month, despite a post-Christmas spending slump.
According to the latest data from NIQ, shoppers spent 24% less on food and drink compared to December – however, total till sales grew 6.6% year on year in the four weeks ending 27 January 2024.
It comes as food inflation slowed to 6.1% – the lowest rate since June 2022.
While less was spent on food and drink in the month, volume growth after Christmas was up 1.3% compared to last year when inflation was in double digits.
Lidl’s sales surged 13.2% in the last 12 weeks, while M&S was up 11.6%.
Subscribe to Grocery Gazette for free
Sign up here to get the latest grocery and food news each morning
Sales data showed that shoppers prioritised simple winter meals to keep costs down over the month, which saw a growth in sales of fresh meat and fresh poultry, up 11% and 10% respectively.
Less expensive food options such as frozen chips, frozen fruit and prepared meal products were also purchased more frequently.
Due to wetter weather in January, NIQ found there was a 6.8% increase in online grocery spend as the channel maintains an 11.2% share of FMCG sales. Growth was ahead of the 5.3% seen via in-store shopping over the four week period.
Ocado revenue rose 11.3% over the last 12 weeks.
NIQ UK head of retailer and business insight Mike Watkins said: “Shopping visits increased again in January and was helped by the return of smaller baskets after the big trolley spends in December. In addition, many households were moderating spend as paying off Christmas bills takes priority.
He added that NIQ expects to see “the trend of managing overall basket spend continue even as inflation continues to slow, with Easter and warmer weather in spring giving the next boost to FMCG spend.”
