Business Intelligence

KANTAR

Shopper habits stabilise

Kantar’s research shows that after a tough 18 months consumers are gearing up for bigger and better celebrations.

Take-home grocery sales in the UK fell by 1.9% over the 12 weeks to 31 October 2021, but are still 7.3% higher than pre-pandemic figures, according to new data from Kantar.

The figures show the general trend towards bigger, less frequent trips to the supermarket seems set to stay. Households visited the supermarket 15.7 times in the past month on average, up from 15.3 trips in 2020, but consumers are still making 40 million fewer trips per month than in 2019. At this rate, it would take three years to get back to our old shopping patterns, Kantar said.

The research shows digital sales accounted for 12.4% of the total grocery market for the second month in a row. A fifth of households consistently order groceries online each month, becoming long-term converts.

The figures also shows that sales of cold treatments this month doubled compared with last year, while cough liquids shot up 147%.

The data shows after a tough 18 months, consumers are gearing up for bigger and better celebrations. An unrestricted Halloween drove sales of pumpkins up 26% in the four weeks to 31 October, and with trick or treating back on the cards seasonal confectionery grew by 27%.

The research shows that 4.7 million households bought mince pies in October and frozen poultry sales are 27% higher year-on-year. In addition, 1.6 million households bought their Christmas pudding this month as well, 400,000 more than last year.

Kantar predicts that, as prices increase in certain categories, they expect shoppers to continue to shop around to find the best deals, and already households visit an average of 3.3 supermarkets per month to find the best value for money.