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Alcohol one of the fastest growing categories in the multiples this Christmas

Published:  10 January, 2017

Sales of beers, wines and spirits saw an +5.7% uplift over the Christmas trading period, putting it behind only confectionery as the biggest driver of festive growth.

Sales of beers, wines and spirits saw an +5.7% uplift over the Christmas trading period, putting it behind only confectionery as the biggest driver of festive growth.

According to Neilsen retail data, confectionery (+9.5%), alcohol (+5.7%), deli/cheese/meats (+5.6%) and soft drinks (+4.3%) all returned to positive sales growth for four-weeks to December 31, making it the best Christmas for the multiples in four years.

Takings at the tills during the period rose +3.3% compared to the same period a year ago - the highest growth since 2012 (+3.7%) and a big improvement on last Christmas when year-on-year growth was flat (0%).

The struggle to the top was won by Aldi, which had the biggest year-on-year growth among the grocery retailers with sales up 17%.

Morrisons was the strongest of the Big Four with 3.4% year-on-year growth in sales, narrowly ahead of Tesco (2.7%).

Tesco however, was the only one of the top four supermarkets not to see a drop in market share across the full 12-week period.

Also interesting was Iceland's rise (4.7%) to become the third fastest growing retailer after Aldi and Lidl.

"The remarkable buoyancy in shoppers spending freely in the final two weeks of the year to enjoy the festivities was good news for retailers considering the consumer head winds expected in 2017 with the return of cost price inflation - after three years of deflation - plus the ongoing uncertainty about the impact of Brexit on UK grocery sales," Mike Watkins, Nielsen's UK head of retailer and business insight, said.

POS figures show that Brits leaving their Christmas grocery shopping later than usual meant supermarket sales in the week up to Christmas were surprisingly strong, helping to make it one of the biggest ever 'end of year' for supermarkets.

The strong performance can also be attributed to supermarkets simplifying their promotional strategies.

The percentage of purchases that went on sales/promotional products dropped from 31% last Christmas to 27% this year - the lowest for six years.

"Stronger communication on price cuts and less complicated promotions helped capture the seasonal and discretionary spend which had been 'missing in action' for much of 2016," Watkins added.

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