Nielsen has reported that Black Friday offers impacted non-food sales at UK supermarkets in the four-week period to 3 December, with money taken at the till (-0.4%) and the volume of goods sold (-0.3%) both dropping compared to the same period a year ago.
General merchandise sales dropped 4.3% in the period, which “was partly a result of shoppers being distracted by heavily-advertised Black Friday deals by non-food retailers, particularly online," commented Mike Watkins, Nielsen’s UK head of retailer and business insight. "This meant supermarket trips were more focused on food and drink.”
More promotional offers in supermarkets also impacted the category's performance, with Nielsen stating that 29% of items were on promotion during the period.
However, Nielsen estimates that shoppers will spend up to £4 billion at the checkout in the week leading up to Christmas Eve, with Thursday 22 December likely to be the busiest day of all.
“It’s not been a great year for the leading supermarkets but an extra day’s shopping available, with Christmas Day falling on a Sunday, means this year should end on a bit of a high note with more visits that week, and sales up versus last year despite the ongoing price deflation,” said Watkins.
© 2016 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. To subscribe to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine, click here.
