Supermarket sales fall flat as golden quarter fails to fizz

Sales across the wider grocery market grew just 0.2% in the 12 weeks to December 29, Kantar data showed, as a Conservative majority in the general election failed to result in consumers expanding their festive budgets.

Despite the fact that food retailers took a record £29.3bn through the tills during the golden quarter, up £50m from the previous year, the growth rate was still the most sluggish it has been for four years.

Some of the hardest-hit categories were “traditional and indulgent festive classics” with sparkling wine sales down 8%, Christmas puddings down 16% and even sales of turkey fell 1%, as consumers shifted from “whole birds to smaller and cheaper joints such as crowns”.

The data showed that overall average household spending during the period fell £8 to £1,055, while total sales volume fell 0.7%. December 23 was the busiest shopping day of 2019 and the largest ever recorded with consumers spending £798m.

Of the brick-and-mortar retailers, Lidl was the fastest-growing grocer, with a 10.3% uptick in sales during the period. Combined with Aldi, the discounters achieved their highest-ever joint Christmas market share of 13.7%.

The slowing market particularly affected the big four grocers, with Kantar noting that “customers chose to make fewer trips to stores” during the period. Tesco saw sales fall 1.5%, Sainsbury’s saw a 0.7% decline, and Asda and Morrisons sales fell 2.2% and 2.9% respectively.

Ocado remained the fastest-growing grocer during the period with sales up 12.5%.

Kantar head of retail and consumer insight Fraser McKevitt, said: “There was no sign of the post-election rush many had hoped for in the final weeks before Christmas, with shoppers carefully watching their budgets. In fact, many of us cut back on traditional and indulgent festive classics. Sales of Christmas puddings were down by 16%, while seasonal biscuits were 11% lower.”