Price cuts to lure buyers helped supermarkets rake in report revenues forward of Christmas, in response to business knowledge.
Kantar Wordpanel, which tracks gross sales and costs amongst chains, stated £13.7bn handed by means of tills or through web sites over the 4 weeks to 24 December.
It took common family grocery spending to an all-time excessive of £477 throughout the month, the report stated, a rise of £28 on 2022.
The analysis famous a 2% rise in gross sales volumes – a statistic that will probably be notably welcomed by chains.
It stated that nearly a 3rd of all spending over the four-week interval was made on objects with some sort of supply, up by greater than £820m on the identical interval in 2022.
Sales by worth had been up 7%.
That mirrored, Kantar stated, the persevering with affect of grocery inflation.
That declined considerably to an annual fee of 6.7% final month from 9.1% seen in November, largely as a result of excessive quantity of promotions.
There is a threat that grocery inflation ticks up barely this month.
That is as a result of supermarkets dramatically reversed many Christmas reductions in January final 12 months, an element that pushed Kantar’s inflation measure to a then report excessive.
Chains’ loyalty schemes and provider pricing is at present the topic of an inquiry by the Competition and Markets Authority.
Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and shopper perception at Kantar, stated: “The rate of inflation is coming down at the fastest pace we have ever recorded, but consumers are still facing pretty hefty pressures on their budgets.
“Retailers had been clearly working laborious in the course of the festive interval to supply finest worth and win over buyers, and promotions had been central to their technique.”
Kantar, which had warned prematurely of Christmas of a slight rise in the price of a conventional dinner, stated demand was robust for many staples however some objects did buck the development.
Volumes of parsnips, sprouts and potatoes had been up 12%, 9% and eight% respectively, and chilled gravy up by 11%.
Festive meats together with pigs in blankets, sausages, hams and turkeys had been additionally up by 6% collectively.
However, mince pie and Christmas pudding volumes had been down by 4% and seven% respectively.
While all of the established chains noticed gross sales rise, Kantar reported that Sainsbury’s outperformed when it comes to development.
Discounters Lidl and Aldi, which have already claimed report gross sales, loved their highest ever market shares for the Christmas interval.
Source: information.sky.com”