Shoppers are expected to spend over £13bin over the four weeks of December (Image: Getty)
When it comes to the Christmas shop, we’ve all got our favourite supermarkets.
Whether you judge it by price, quality or even how close your nearest store is, Brits go all out and this year is no different. One supermarket saw the number of shoppers soar by 2.5 per cent over the four weeks to December 1 as shoppers got ready for Christmas, according to the latest data from Kantar.
Kantar noted the most popular place to spend Christmas appeared to be Just under one in three households, 32 per cent, bought food, drink and other groceries there during the 12 weeks to 1 December. Spending there rose by 10.4 per cent compared to last year.
Supermarket sales are expected to continue growing, topping £13bn over the four weeks of December for the first time ever.
Rivals and Sainsbury’s saw their share of shoppers increase, compared to the same month last year. Britain’s largest grocer Tesco achieved its highest market share since 2017 at 28.1 per cent, up from 27.4 per cent in 2023.
M&S has been crowned the UK’s favourite supermarket (Image: Getty)
Sainsbury’s share increased by 0.3 per cent points to 15.9 cent over the year, meaning the UK’s two biggest grocers now have a combined market share of 44 per cent.
Online retailer Ocado, which has a partnership with M&S, saw sales rise 8.7 per cent while Lidl was the fastest growing bricks-and-mortar supermarket, with sales up by 6.6 per cent. Spending at Morrisons rose by 2 per cent, and it now takes 8.6 per cent of the market. Waitrose saw spending there increase by 2.6 per cent while Aldi grew by 2.1 per cent. Iceland also held its share of 2.2 per cent, and Co-op’s portion of the market is now 5.5 per cent, and Asda has a 12.3 per cent market share.
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Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar, said Monday, December 23 is likely to be the single busiest day for the supermarkets this year.
“Although there are clear signs that shoppers are already stocking up their cupboards. Sales of assorted sweet biscuits and biscuits for cheese both doubled in November compared with the month before, while 8% of us bought a Christmas pudding.”
The number of Brits splashing out on premium labels also rose as did spending on non-grocery items in supermarkets.
The cost of an average Christmas dinner for four has risen to £32.57, up by 6.5%, largely driven by the price of turkey and Christmas vegetable staples. Wider grocery price inflation remains relatively stable at 2.6%, with grocers prioritising low pricing over multibuys.
Fraser McKevitt explains: “Sales on promotion reached 30 per cent in November, the highest since Christmas last year. It’s retailer price cuts, often accessed through loyalty cards, that are really driving this. While multibuy promotions have stayed flat, spending on price cut offers has grown by 14 per cent, worth £355 million more than last year. Shoppers are grabbing the chance to spend that little bit more than usual on Christmas specials, and champagne, wine and spirits saw the biggest levels of buying on deal.”