UK supermarket sales are set to exceed £13bn for the first time over the four weeks of December driven by a surge in demand for premium product lines as shoppers gear up for Christmas, new data from Kantar reveals.
Take-home sales increased by 2.5% for the four weeks to 1 December.
Sales of premium own-label products in particular, saw a boost, with the proportion of spending on these items climbing to 5%, and expected to reach nearly 7% by the end of December.
Kantar head of retail and consumer insight Fraser McKevitt said: “Monday 23rd December is likely to be the single busiest day for supermarkets this year, although shoppers are already preparing for Christmas. We’ve seen sales of assorted sweet biscuits and biscuits for cheese double in November, and 8% of consumers have already purchased a Christmas pudding.”
The festive rush is also driving up demand for non-grocery items, with sales of general merchandise predicted to see a significant uptick. Spending on these items in December 2023 jumped 21% compared to the monthly average for the year.
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However, the cost of Christmas dinner has risen, with the price of feeding a family of four now at £32.57, up 6.5% from last year due to increases in the cost of turkey and vegetables.
Despite this, overall grocery price inflation remains stable at 2.6%, as supermarkets prioritise lower pricing and price cuts over multibuy offers.
McKevitt explained: “Retailers have been focusing on price cuts, often accessed via loyalty cards, and this is driving the increase in spending. Multibuy promotions have remained flat, but spending on price-cut offers has grown by 14%, worth £355 million more than last year.”
Over the period, Tesco saw its market share grow to 28.1%, its highest since December 2017, while sales rose by 5.2% in the 12 weeks to 1st December. Sainsbury’s also increased its share to 15.9%, with sales up by 4.7%. The two grocers now account for 44% of the UK supermarket market.
Meanwhile, discount chains continue to perform strongly. Lidl posted a 6.6% increase in sales, while Ocado outpaced the online market with an 8.7% sales growth, securing a 1.8% share of the market.
In contrast, Asda has seen a decline in sales, down 3.5% year-on-year, and continues to trail behind its competitors in terms of market share growth.
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