Supermarket sales hit 2024 high as shoppers get ready for Christmas
Take-home grocery sales increased by 2.3% over the four weeks to 3rd November, to reach £11.6 billion, the latest inflation update figures reveal.
This increase made it the biggest sales month of the year so far, according to the latest data from Kantar.
The take-home sales coincided with a jump in the number of shopping trips made by households, hitting a four-year high at 480 million. While Halloween played a part in galvanising sales, there are signs that consumers are looking ahead and starting their Christmas shopping early.
Grocery price inflation was up slightly on September’s figure, but still within typical levels, with the rate now below 3.0% every month since early summer. As Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insights at Kantar explained, October 2024 was the busiest month for the supermarkets since March 2020.
“Trip numbers have been going up gradually for some time, but this steady march hasn’t reached pre-covid levels of shopping frequency just yet. The average for each household is slightly over four trips per week,” said Fraser McKevitt.
“What’s interesting this month is the number of households who are already stocking up the cupboards for the big day in December. Some people think Christmas ads hit our screens too soon, but it’s clearly important for retailers to set out their stalls early.”
According to Kantar’s figures, 648,000 shoppers have already bought a Christmas cake, while 14.4% of households picked up mince pies in October.
“With Black Friday on the horizon, the grocers will be hoping to capture a slice of the action there too,” added Fraser McKevitt.
“In the week up to 26th November last year, online and offline sales for typical Black Friday categories across all high street retailers were £1.6 billion higher than during an average week in 2023.”
Promotional activity by the grocers is helping to keep prices down and supporting sales of branded goods in particular.
“Spending on deals has been going up consistently for the past 18 months and it now makes up 28.6% of all sales,” said Fraser.
“Offers are helping to lift branded sales especially. The growth gap between brands and own-label is the biggest it’s been since February 2021, sitting at 4.9% and 2.7% apiece.
“We’ll be keeping a close eye on those numbers to see whether the gap continues to widen in the run up to Christmas.”
In the supermarket shares, Lidl was the fastest growing retailer with a bricks and mortar presence for the 15th period in a row, continuing this run into a second year.
It secured 326,000 additional shoppers this period, more than any other retailer, and saw particularly strong fresh produce sales growth at 22%.
Meanwhile, the two largest supermarkets also outperformed the wider market. With sales up across all its store formats and online, Tesco’s sales rose by 4.6%, taking it to 27.9% of the market, while spending through the tills at Sainsbury’s climbed 4.4%, making its overall share 15.5%. Sainsbury’s saw a rise in both shopper numbers and trips this period.
