Year-on-year supermarket sales in the UK rose by 8.6% during the four weeks ending 22 April, according to the latest retail data from Nielsen.
This growth was not distorted by the late timing of Easter this year, as the year-on-year figures during the last eight week period also experienced an increase of 2.8%.
“This shows the underlying health of the supermarket industry is pretty good, even if we exclude the positive distortion caused by the late Easter. For example, when purely comparing Easter weeks this year and last year, sales were up 3.5%,” said Mike Watkins, head of retailer and business insight at Nielsen UK.
“Whilst consumers are more likely to be uncertain around spend, we don’t expect a dramatic change in grocery shopping behaviour this year. As long as real incomes don’t come under too much pressure and employment remains high, shoppers will begin to adapt to moderately rising grocery prices, albeit this could be by modifying how much they spend in other retail channels."
Trends
Treats such as crisps and confectionary saw the biggest year-on-year rise in sales over the last eight weeks, with a 7.5% growth. This was followed by drinks (+6.5%) and fresh foods (+3.4%).
“As inflation gains momentum over the next few months, we expect shopper promiscuity to continue, leading to more visits to different stores as shoppers find ways to manage the overall cost of their grocery bill,” added Watkins.
"Customer retention is likely to be the next battleground for retailers, however, this shouldn’t mean a race to the bottom because consumers aren’t solely motivated by the lowest price but also by getting the best value. Be this shopping in more convenient locations or being able to buy product ranges that give the option to “dine in at home” rather than eat out, if it helps save money on the monthly household budget.”
© 2017 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Sarah Harford. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
