The UK grocery market saw a subdued performance in January, according to the latest data from Nielsen, with total till sales rising by 0.7% in the past four weeks.
This compares to a 3.3% increase reported in the same period last year.
Value sales in the past four weeks were down 0.3% at the grocery multiples, with volumes also down, by 1%; however this was exacerbated by inflation, which rose by 1.6%, according to Nielsen.
Milder winter weather failed to provide a boost to volume sales of traditional ambient grocery products during the four-week period, which were down by 2.8%, however soft drinks (+2.8%), crisps and snacks (+2.6%), and confectionery (+2.2%) all saw increases.
Beer, wine and spirit sales were also up in the period, by 2%.
Improved Confidence
“The good news is that consumer confidence is improving, compared to where we were six months ago," commented Mike Watkins, Nielsen’s UK head of retailer and business insight. "However, this change in sentiment will take a number of months to be reflected in sales.
"The economy remains firmly our number one concern, followed by political stability, health and rising utility bills. Assuming there is no late winter disruption, we anticipate that industry growth will improve to around 1% over the next couple of months, whilst volume growth will remain relatively weak until Easter, where this holiday should provide much needed momentum mid-April.”
© 2020 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine
