Grocery sales edge higher ahead of expected festive surge - NIQ

Grocery sales ticked higher last month, industry research showed on Wednesday, ahead of a likely surge in the weeks leading up to Christmas.

According to data from consumer research firm NIQ, total till sales at UK supermarkets grew by 3.7% in the four weeks to 30 November.

That was slightly lower than October’s growth of 4%, which NIQ attributed to milder weather, Black Friday and consumers holding out until December for their big Christmas shop.

NIQ said grocery spend was on track to hit £10bn in the two weeks leading up to 21 December, with the final week accounting for most of that.

Mike Watkins, UK head of retailer and business insight at NIQ, said: "The biggest single week will be ending 21 December, with £6bn being spent at the grocery multiples, which is a third of the four weekly spend in one week.

"Last year, with food inflation at 7%, volumes fell in December. However, this year NIQ expects volume growth of around 1%. Even with 50% of households saying it is important for them to make savings on their Christmas groceries, 66% still expect they will spend the same or more than last year."

In November, in-store fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sales grew by 5.7%, outstripping online sales, which saw a more modest 0.6% improvement.

NIQ said shoppers were "actively looking for discounts on the shop floor" with the percentages of sales purchased on promotion reaching 25%.

However, among individual grocers, online only Ocado reported the strongest sales growth, up 16.2% over the last 12 weeks. Lidl and Marks & Spencer also saw strong growth, of 11.6% and 10.6% respectively, while Tesco - the UK’s largest supermarket - reported a 5.1% uplift.