Grocery sales have risen at fastest rate in more than 25 years

Take-home grocery sales grew at the fastest rate since 1994 during the past 12 weeks, new figures have revealed.
Supermarket shoppers are spending more in lockdown.Supermarket shoppers are spending more in lockdown.
Supermarket shoppers are spending more in lockdown.

The value of spend in food shops rose by y 14.3 per cent, according to the latest figures from Kantar.

Meanwhile, online grocery sales were 75 per cent higher than a year ago, with nearly one in five households placing an order in the most recent four weeks.

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Shoppers visited the supermarket 3.5 times per week on average, meaning 100 million fewer trips overall than the same month last year, and increased their spend each trip to £27.41 – nearly 50 per cent more than they did during normal times. However, in the week to 17 May, there were signs that consumers are taking tentative steps out of lockdown, with a marginal increase in the number of visits to a shop.

Kantar said that online shopping now accounts for 11.5 per cent of all grocery sales, gaining more ground and attracting more new shoppers in 2020 than the channel has in the previous five years.

Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar, said: “The most recent three-month period now includes both the pre-lockdown rush to the shops in March, and eight weeks of stay-at-home advice from Government – a combination which has resulted in the fastest growth in take-home grocery sales for over 25 years.

“While these are bumper figures, it remains true that the overall picture for some grocers will be less positive, as supermarkets continue to feel the impact of a considerable reduction in on-the-go spend on meals, drinks and snacks. Those categories usually add up to £1 billion over the course of 12 weeks and they aren’t included in these numbers.”

He added: “The retailers have done a brilliant job of reacting to a sudden spike in demand by increasing their online capacity, and it’s meant that nearly one in five British households ordered groceries online in the most recent four weeks, 1.6 million more than this time last year. And it’s not just groceries experiencing a boom – people missing their favourite restaurants and wanting to treat themselves have pushed takeaway deliveries up by 250 per cent year on year.

“While the gains made by online shopping are unlikely to be sustained at these levels, the crisis has certainly accelerated the move towards online. The grocers have attracted a new group of customers, in particular older demographics, and we expect some of them may continue using online services and enjoying the convenience that home delivery provides.”

Thursday 7 May, the day before the VE Bank Holiday, was the biggest shopping day of the month, totalling £488 million, and sales of alcohol were 50 per cent higher than last year over the four weeks. Meanwhile, south of the border, where lockdown restrictions were loosened on 10 May, sales of chilled dips rose by 22 per cent, crisps by 28 per cent and carbonated soft drinks by 25 per cent, during the course of the four weeks.

With pubs and restaurants still closed, people made the most of the sunshine at home and sales of frozen confectionery and alcohol were 40 per cent and 50 per cent higher than last year respectively. Barbecue weather for many may have encouraged shoppers to spend £17 million more on burgers and £24 million more on sausages year on year.

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All ten major supermarkets and the combined group of independent retailers increased sales in the 12 weeks to 17 May.

Shoppers staying closer to home and avoiding queues at large supermarkets benefited both Co-op, up by 30.8 per cent, and independent retailers, up by 63.1 per cent. Co-op reached seven per cent market share, a level last achieved in 2011, while the 2.5 per cent of sales taken by independent grocers was last seen in 2009.

McKevitt added: “Shoppers and retailers are now thinking about what the impact of a less restrictive lockdown will be, and a phased re-opening of non-essential retail and the out-of-home food and drink sector will have a significant impact on grocery sales in the coming months.

“However, with plans for reopening the hospitality sector still uncertain, we are currently projecting that extra meals, snacks and drinks consumed at home will mean take-home sales at the grocers could be up 12 per cent over the course of 2020 as a whole.”

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