Premium sales receive a boost as Christmas shoppers splash out on festive fizz

By Jo Gilbert

Published: 07 January, 2025

Household spending at the multiples hit a record high in Christmas 2024 as December became the busiest month for footfall since the pre-lockdown rush in March 2020, according Kantar. Overall take-home sales at the grocers rose by 2.1% over the four weeks to 29 December compared with last year.

And it was sales of festive fizz which were the stars of the festive drinks trolley. Sparkling wine and Champagne received a YOY boost, achieving sales growth of 4.4% at a total of £187 million across the month. There was enjoyment in moderation too, as 11% of the population bought a low & no alcohol drink, up from under 10% last year.

Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar, highlighted a “solid Christmas at the supermarkets”. Sales surpassed £13 billion during the four weeks of December for the first time ever, showing “people were clearly in the mood to celebrate and spend”.

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He continued: “In contrast to reports of disappointing footfall across the rest of the high street, it was a very different story in the world of grocery… As anticipated, Monday 23 December was the most popular shopping day of the year, with sales a whopping 30% higher than any other day during 2024.”

People were also willing to splash out a little more than usual, as sales growth for branded goods accelerated to 4.2%, while premium own-label lines jumped by 14.6%. The latter now account for a record 7% of all sales, as nine in 10 households bought at least one of these products in December.

However, inflation still has a major role to play. The impact of rising grocery prices was felt across the board, rising to 3.7% in the four-week period ending 29 December 2024 – its highest level since March 2024.

More broadly, Britain’s largest grocer Tesco was the biggest winner in terms of FMCG sales. The retailer’s 0.8 percentage point share gain was the biggest of any supermarket, taking its hold of the market to 28.5%. Growth across its convenience, superstore and online channels contributed to a 5% increase in sales over the 12 weeks to 29 December.

Sainsbury’s meanwhile achieved its highest share since December 2019 at 16% thanks to sales growth which outpaced the market at 3.5%. Morrisons sales rose by 0.4% with its share standing at 8.6%. Waitrose’s market share remained at 4.6% with spending increasing by 2.1%. Convenience retailer Co-op’s portion of the market is now 5.3%. Asda now holds 12.5% of the market.

Discounters Lidl and Aldi also saw major gains, clinching their highest ever Christmas shares at 7.3% and 10% respectively.

“More people chose to do some of their Christmas grocery shopping online this year with 5.6 million households opting for delivery or click and collect services on at least one occasion. Online spending for the month reached a record £1.6 billion. This saw Ocado boost its sales by 9.6% over the 12 weeks, taking its overall share to 1.8%,” McKevitt concluded.

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