Strong Christmas sales figures from the Southern Co-op suggest more consumers used their local convenience store when shopping during the festive season.
Southern Co-op, which operates more than 200 convenience stores across the south of England, saw a 4.7% increase in like-for-like sales over the four weeks to 29 December. Whilst not directly comparable to recent festive figures released by Morrisons and Sainsbury’s, the chain appears to have outperformed its larger rivals.
The Southern Co-op stated that the sales increase was seen across a range of products including core lines as well as seasonal food and drink.
Whilst mince pies proved “as popular as ever”, other products selling well included its range of Co-op Irresistible snacks and festive bouquets.
Mark Smith, Southern Co-op Chief Executive, said: “We’re pleased with the sales growth over Christmas this year which builds on a solid sales performance through 2019. This reflects on going improvements in store operations and the growing popularity of the Co-op range of products we offer.”
