Promotions around the World Cup have helped to drive UK grocery sales over the past four-week period, according to Nielsen.
The research firm said that sales in the past month were up 1.5%, compared to the same period last year, with Father’s Day also providing a boost to the sector. The performance compares to a ‘heatwave’ month last year, which saw grocery sales boosted by 4%.
Another factor in the sales increase, Nielsen said, was a strong performance from convenience stores, with sales up 1.8%, as more shoppers did top-up shops locally for fresh foods and last-minute items in the warm weather.
Sales at larger grocery multiples were up 0.6%, while volume was up 0.1%.
Incremental Sales
"Promotions, changes in the weather, and events like Father’s Day and the start of the World Cup have all helped incremental sales," said Mike Watkins, Nielsen’s UK head of retailer insight.
According to Nielsen, World Cup promotions have been 'in full swing' over the past four weeks, with more than a quarter of special offers (27%) coming from products on promotion. Branded beverages, in particular, were heavily promoted, with 43% being sold on promotion.
With the weather getting better, in the week ending 16 June, sales of gin and tonic water rose 46% and 21%, respectively, as did colas and flavoured carbonates, up 5% and 4%, respectively.
In terms of Father’s Day, 15% of households claimed to buy extra items (compared with 19% for Mothering Sunday), making it the seventh most-celebrated event in the calendar, on a par with Valentine’s Day.
The week ending 16 June also saw an uplift in gifting categories such as DVD/Blu-ray (+9%), spirits (+6%), rotisserie chicken (+6%) and greeting cards (+6%).
© 2018 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.
