Grocery sales boom as lockdown measures shutter pubs and restaurants

Grocery spending spiked in the last three months, boosted by Christmas and the re-introduction of lockdown measures, industry data showed on Tuesday.

According to the latest figures from Kantar, take-home grocery sales rose by 12.2% in the 12 weeks to 24 January. In January alone, shoppers spent £1bn more on supermarket food and drink items compared to the same four-week period a year previously.

New year health trends helped boost sales, with 6.6m households buying vegan ranges during the month, up 10% year-on-year. However, dry January appeared to be less popular, with alcohol sales ahead £234m, a 29% jump on January 2020.

Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar, added: "This period also captured a unique New Year’s Eve, with many people celebrating the night at home instead of going out or hosting. Delivery companies such as Just Eat and Deliveroo felt the benefit; such services accounted for 6% of all online shopping trips on 31 December."

Convenience stores also benefited, recording their highest four-week ending share of the market since September, at 12.9%.

Among grocers, Ocado was the fastest-growing retailer, with sales up 36.6% in the 12-week period, giving it a market share of 1.7%.

Of the big four grocers, Wm Morrison reported the strongest sales growth, of 14.3%, and a market share of 10.4%. Tesco, with a market share of 27.3%, saw sales rise 12.2%; J Sainsbury reported a 12.0% rise and 15.7% share; and Asda reported growth of 9.9% to give it a market share of 14.6%.

However, Kantar argued that the strong sales growth seen over the last year was unlikely to be maintained in 2021.

McKevitt said: "We expect to see strong growth for all the grocers fall off as we reach the anniversary of the first national lockdown in March. Sales will then be measured against the high volumes record in spring and summer 2020. With the vaccine roll-out underway, there is also hope that the hospitality sector will re-open, meaning demand for take home groceries is likely to subside."

Grocery inflation was 1.3% for the 12 weeks to 24 January, Kantar said. Prices rose fastest in segments such as canned colas, fresh pork and chilled deserts, and fell in vegetables, fresh beef and bread.