A record £13.7 billion passed through UK supermarket tills over the four weeks to Dec. 24th and we made 488 million grocery trips according to figures out this morning.
Our appetite for traditional Christmas dinner items was particularly strong in 2023, with volumes of parsnips, sprouts and potatoes up, along with festive meats including pigs in blankets, sausages, hams and turkeys.
Total take-home grocery sales grew in value by 7.0%, a figure largely driven by inflation, which slowed to 6.7% in the period from 9.1% in last month’s report, the fastest month-on-month drop that Kantar has recorded and its lowest level since April 2022.
Sales measured by volume, or the number of items bought, rose 2% over the four weeks.
The researcher said the average household spent an all-time high of £477 in the period, up £28 pounds on 2022.
Nearly one third of all spend was made on items with some kind of offer, the highest level since December 2020.
“We’re creatures of habit when it comes to Christmas and our data shows that the classic festive plate remains much the same,” said Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar.
“However, mince pies and Christmas puddings did buck the trend. They were less popular this year,” he added.
