2 minute read
Business Intelligence
by 55 North
KANTAR
Consumers seize the chance to enjoy Christmas
Premium own-label sales broke records at Christmas, new Kantar research reveals.
Grocery sales reached £31.7bn over the 12 weeks to 26 December 2021 as shoppers made the most of Christmas festivities, new research reveals.
Data from Kantar shows that people seized the chance to enjoy Christmas with friends and family after last year’s muted festivities, and grocery sales hit £11.7bn over the month of December.
The research shows spending on many traditional Christmas dinner items was broadly similar compared with last year, there was ample evidence of people treating themselves and guests. Sales of mince pies reached £62m in December, a jump of 7% on 2020. A similar amount, £61m, was spent on Christmas chocolates, with sales soaring by 21%. Consequently, indigestion remedy sales rose by 8%. Sprout sales dipped by 3% but the traditional green hasn’t fallen out of favour just yet as almost half of all households in Britain served them up in December.
Premium own-label sales broke records at Christmas and shoppers spent £627m on supermarkets’ own upmarket lines over the four weeks to 26 December, an increase of 6.8% versus 2020. The appetite to celebrate and splash out that little bit more pushed sales of luxury own-brand products up across the board. Sparkling and still wine sales grew 22% and 18% respectively, while crisps surged by 31%.
As is traditional, the busiest shopping day of the year was 23 December. Food and drink spend peaked two days before Christmas. The real driver of bumper sales on 23 December wasn’t online though, as Kantar recorded the largest number of in-store visits since March 2020.
