Latest market share figures from Kantar show November was the largest month ever for the UK grocery market, with £10.9bn spent in store and online as eating and drinking out of home was restricted by England’s national lockdown.
Take-home grocery sales during the four weeks to 29 November surged up 13.9%, with growth of 11.3% over the 12-week period – the fastest rate since August.
Kantar highlighted that in the three days before non-essential retail and hospitality closed on 5 November, grocery sales that week jumped by 17%. The month also saw shopper frequency hit its highest level since the beginning of the pandemic, suggesting more confidence among people going into stores. These factors contributed to the record total, with December’s numbers set to surpass that with spend forecast to be close to £12bn – around £1.5bn more than last year.
After a tough 12 months for many people, Christmas appears to have given shoppers a much-needed cause for celebration. A Worldpanel Plus survey found that 42% of Britons are pushing to make this the best Christmas in memory, while over a third are planning to put up Christmas lights early because of the pandemic.
Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar, commented: “Many people have begun the countdown to Christmas 2020 already, using more time at home to go big on festive revelry. Sales of turkeys, both whole birds and ready-to-roast joints, are up by 36% on last year, while more than £11m was spent on Christmas puddings. Shoppers spent 238% more on Christmas lights in the month to 15 November, suggesting that people are eager to capture the Christmas spirit at home. However, mince pie sales are down by 8%, reflecting fewer opportunities to share a treat with friends and colleagues.”
Kantar’s data also shows that limited opportunities to drink in pubs and restaurants, as well as an early eye on festivities, pushed alcohol spend in supermarkets 33% higher than in the same four weeks last year.
Meanwhile, online shopping remained popular with renewed lockdown protocols driving the channel’s share of the overall grocery market to a record 13.7%. Ocado continued to benefit from this trend, growing sales by 38.3% over the 12 weeks. The period fully covers the time since Ocado started selling M&S products, during which its share of the chilled ready meals market has tripled to just over 3%.
Waitrose increased sales by 13.2%, its fastest rate of growth since 2005, with sales of fresh meat and fresh fish rising by 25% and 16% respectively. Its share rose by 0.1 percentage points on last year, and the retailer now accounts for 4.9% of the market.
Both Iceland and Lidl found success this month by encouraging shoppers to fill their trolleys. McKevitt commented: “Just over a quarter of Iceland’s 21% growth came from the freezer aisles, with fruit, vegetables and household cleaning products also growing quickly. With shoppers buying more completely across the store, the average trip to Iceland now totals £18.21, 44% more than a year ago. Meanwhile, Lidl reached a new record market share of 6.2%, as sales grew by 13.9%. More than two-thirds of the growth was from trips over £60, as coupons and offers on the Lidl Plus app incentivised customers to spend more in store.”
Co-op’s growth increased to 9.8%, with the convenience retailer holding on to a market share of 6.3%. Aldi’s sales were up by 7.0%, with a 7.7% share of the market.
At Morrisons, increases both in store and online helped it to grow sales by 13.7%, gaining 0.2 percentage points of market share to stand at 10.3%. Sainsbury’s share remained steady at 15.7%, with sales up by 10.8%. Tesco’s sales rose by 10.4%, and Asda’s by 7.7%.
Meanwhile, the data showed that grocery inflation now stands at 1.4% with prices rising fastest in categories such as canned colas, fresh pork and fresh sausages while falling in vegetables, bread and fresh beef. Kantar highlighted that shoppers, retailers, and suppliers will all be hoping that Brexit does not lead to a spike in price inflation.
NAM Implications:
- Key is how your November compared?
- An item/category comparison might help…
