Brits spent a record breaking £14.6bn on food a drink in the four weeks to 28 December 2024, boosted by intense discounts and promotional activity.
New data released by NIQ revealed that while consumers spent less per shop – £21.95, down 4.9% – they were visiting brick and mortar stores more often (+8%) during the reported period.
Finger foods and smaller dishes were the big winners Christmas, with a significant boost in sales for sushi (+20%), olives and antipasti (+10%) as well as chilled bread (+12%), nuts (+10%) and fresh and frozen fruit (+10%).
Food sales growth
Strong growth was also reported across fresh produce (+7.4%), bakery (+4.8%) and soft drinks (+3.6%) compared to the same time period in 2023.
Sales for meat, fish and poultry also fared better than the previous year, with value growth up 4.4% and 2.1% in unit growth. Confectionery also did well, with +13% value growth and +5.5% unit growth.
While beers, wines and spirits fell flat – with sales weakening to -1.6% value growth and -1.3% unit growth – stout experienced significant growth during December, likely driven by the challenges around draft supply of Guinness to pubs.
Mike Watkins, NIQ’s UK head of retailer and business insight, said: “The topline growths were helped by the return of low inflation but also by shoppers being inclined to buy more in the final week leading up to Christmas Eve.
Cost of living
“However, shoppers still had to spend more money this year on household bills before buying Christmas indulgences and this may have taken the edge off the growth in some other categories such as alcohol and also household.”
Tesco (+4.5%) grew market share, with Sainsbury’s (+3.1%) holding market share with both retailers seeing strong increases in visits and new shoppers. Marks & Spencer momentum continued (+6.8%) and this resulted in its highest ever market share of 4.8% on record.
“In the last four weeks we’ve seen the highest levels of promotions in the last three years, with 27% of all FMCG sales being purchased on promotion, with branded promotions at 37% of sales,” Watkins added.
“This has no doubt helped to boost purchasing over the Christmas period. In particular, this was led by Tesco and Sainsbury’s where promotional spending on FMCG increased to 35% and 34% respectively as these retailers engaged shoppers with big loyalty app savings.”
