More than a third (34%) of UK shoppers either have or are considering stockpiling food and drink products for the coming Christmas season, a new study by Lumina Intelligence has found.
The survey found that 10% of consumers are 'very worried' about product shortages this Christmas, following Brexit, the COVID-19 crisis, the fuel crisis, and the ongoing lorry driver shortage. Some 16% said that they were 'worried' about shortages, while 30% said that they were 'slightly worried'.
Those in the youngest (18-24) and eldest (65+) cohort were the least likely to be worried about product shortages ahead of Christmas.
A Different Christmas
“Christmas this year will be incredibly different to last, when travel restrictions and last-minute regional lockdowns ended most people’s festive plans," said Blonnie Whist, insight director at Lumina Intelligence. "Consumers will be looking to make up for lost time and with no restrictions surrounding gatherings, we can expect big celebrations.
"However, media coverage surrounding product shortages due to the HGV driver shortage, Brexit and COVID is concerning shoppers, with some already stockpiling ahead of Christmas and many more likely to follow suit."
Of those that either have or are considering stockpiling products, 6% said that they 'have already' purchased food and drink products ahead of Christmas, while 10% said that they 'definitely' will purchase festive products by the end of October, and 18% said that they 'probably' will purchase products by the end of October.
Advance Purchase Categories
The categories that consumers are most likely to purchase in advance for Christmas include Confectionery (66%), Crisps & Snacks (57%), Tinned and packaged products (55%), Alcohol (55%), Soft Drinks (51%) and Frozen (45%), the study found.
"Retailers need to be prepared for Christmas preparations to start early this year and should expect a bumper year for sales, but also need to communicate clearly with shoppers to ensure purchasing behaviours do not hit the extremes of April 2020 when the pressures on the supply chain peaked," added Whist.
The findings were taken from an online survey conducted with a nationally representative sample of 1,001 UK adults between 24-27 September.
© 2021 European Supermarket Magazine. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. For more Retail news, click here. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
