Shoppers in the UK are splashing the cash this Christmas, ahead of what is likely to be a somewhat tougher new year, Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at AJ Bell, has said.
Hewson was commenting following findings by Kantar that supermarket sales are expected to continue to grow as Christmas nears, exceeding £13 billion over the four weeks of December for the first time. Monday, 23 December, is set to be the busiest single day for supermarkets this year, the research firm added.
Supermarket Shares
Supermarket share prices all saw positive gains following the news, with Hewson noting that “Sainsbury’s, Tesco, B&M and Marks & Spencer were all in fine fettle at the prospect that tills are set to ring sweetly right up until the big day, as shoppers reward themselves with plenty of those nice to haves.
“The UK’s two biggest stores have both seen their market share increase and with more consumers giving in to the urge to splurge this year, a third of us are popping in for a bit of M&S magic."
At the same time, the challenges of the past few years have led many UK shoppers to "re-evaluate" the Christmas experience, with many families putting limits on how much they plan to spend on each other, or opting for a 'secret Santa' approach.
“There’s also the burgeoning trend to buy vintage, which means it’s not only okay to buy second hand, it’s actually applauded in some quarters," said Hewson. "Even picky teenagers have got on board with the practice, which allows them to get designer goods for a fraction of the price and with shining sustainability credentials."
Festive Splurge
Economic forecasters have noted that while the UK is set to see growth next year, inflation is also set to rise, which is contributing in part to the festive splurge.
"There is a bit of a feeling that we’re going for it this Christmas because we’re all aware it could get tougher again in the new year," Hewson added.
"Energy prices are set to rise again in January and all those lovely festive promotions which have given us leave to put six bottles of wine in our baskets rather than the two we’d actually planned will melt away.”
