(Alliance News) - UK supermarkets had their busiest month ever in December, market research firm Kantar said on Tuesday, as the usual festive sales boom was turbocharged by lockdown measures that forced bars and restaurants to shut once again.
Out of the London-listed UK grocers, Ocado posted the chunkiest annual sales rise, but Tesco PLC and J Sainsbury PLC both gave up some market share during the 12 weeks to December 27.
Total UK grocery sales during the 12 weeks, which included the run-up to Christmas, jumped 11% annually to GBP32.69 billion from GBP29.35 billion.
"December is always an incredibly busy time for supermarkets, but take-home grocery shopping is usually supplemented by celebrations in restaurants, pubs and bars – with GBP4 billion spent on food and drink, excluding alcohol, out of the home during the normal festive month. This year, almost all those meals were eaten at home and retailers stepped up monumentally to meet the surge in demand," Kantar Head of Retail & Consumer Insight Fraser McKevitt said.
Freight delays and Brexit concerns also added to the drama during the period, Kantar noted, with December 21 being the busiest shopping day of the year as a result.
Much of Europe swiftly banned British travellers and UK freight entering their countries after the discovery of a more transmissible variant of Covid-19 in Britain. Dramatic images in December showed hundreds of lorries backed up in the port of Dover, likely prompting some panic buying.
Ocado posted a hefty 37% sales rise in the 12 weeks, the best of the London-listed grocers. Its sales during the period came in at GBP530 million. The online grocer's market share improved to 1.6% from 1.3%.
Among the traditional "Big Four", Tesco's market share slipped to 27.3% from 27.4% but sales rose 11% to GBP8.92 billion.
At Sainsbury's, sales jumped 16% to GBP5.20 billion, though like Tesco, its market share slipped slightly, to 15.9% from 16.0%.
Asda's sales rose 7.8% to GBP4.69 billion annually but its market share fell to 14.3% from 14.8%.
WM Morrison Supermarkets PLC's sales rose 13% to GBP3.41 billion and its market share inched up to 10.4% from 10.3%.
In addition, the Bradford, England-based itself on Tuesday said like-for-like sales, excluding fuel, over Christmas and the New Year were 9.3% higher annually. It was a record festive performance, the company noted.
Elsewhere, John Lewis Partnership's grocery arm Waitrose posted a 5.0% sales hike to GBP1.63 billion. Its market share was flat at 5.0%.
Iceland posted a 21% sales rise, and its market share climbed to 2.5% from 2.3%. At Co-op, sales rose 9.8% but its share of the market slipped to 6.0% from 6.1%.
Fortunes were mixed for the big German discount chains. Lidl's market share improved to 6.1% from 5.9%, but Aldi's eased to 7.4% from 7.8%.
In terms of sales, Lidl's jumped 15% but Aldi's by just 6.3%.
Like Morrisons, Aldi itself reported a record Christmas. Sales in the four weeks to December 24 surged 11% year-on-year, the company had said on Monday.
Grocery inflation for the 12-week period was 1.3%, Kantar added.
Next week Wednesday, Sainsbury's reports on its festive fortunes, followed by Tesco a day later.
In London on Tuesday morning, Ocado shares were 0.5% higher. Tesco climbed 0.9%, and Morrisons was up 0.1%, but Sainsbury's was down 0.5%.
By Eric Cunha; ericcunha@alliancenews.com
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