Christmas shoppers flock to toy shops ahead of second Covid-19 lockdown

Toy and entertainment retailers reported a surge in shopper numbers in the days leading up to the coronavirus lockdown, as Brits snapped up Christmas presents ahead of the closure of non-essential stores.

The latest analysis showed that toy stores more than doubled their share of pre-pandemic footfall between Monday and Wednesday last week.

But one thing is always front of mind at this time of year – Christmas – and it seems many people sought to get ahead with gift buying before stores closed,” Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar, said.

However, seperate data from market research firm Neilsen suggested that food and drink retailers will see a delayed spike in Christmas shopping when lockdown restrictions are lifted, releasing pent-up demand.

Meanwhile, Brits filled their shopping baskets with booze and frozen food over the last four weeks as they battened down the hatches ahead of a second coronavirus lockdown.

Sales of beer, wine and spirits rose 15 per cent over the last month, while frozen food sales grew 16 per cent.

It came as overall UK supermarket sales increased by 6.9 per cent in the four weeks to 31 October ahead of fresh virus restrictions, according to Nielsen data.

The figures showed Brits spent an average of £17.70 per basket on fast-moving consumer goods such as toilet paper, which is 20 per cent higher than the same time last year.

However, the number of store visits remained 12 per cent lower as cautious consumers limited unnecessary journeys.

As a result, online shopping continued to cash in, with sales rising 87 per cent in the last four weeks.

The report warned that continued uncertainty over lockdown measures ahead of the key Christmas period meant UK consumers were unable to plan ahead.

Nevertheless, Nielsen estimated that UK shoppers will spend an extra £2bn in the final quarter of the year — up seven per cent and an all-time sales high.

“We can see that supermarket sales have experienced moderate growth over the last four weeks, growing a little in the final week in anticipation of another lockdown,” said Mike Watkins, UK head of retail and business insight at Nielsen.

“However UK shoppers’ plans for the Christmas period remain in limbo — they are unable to plan when and where they will shop, how much they will spend and of course whether they will be able to spend it with family and friends. 

“Assuming that restrictions on travel and get-togethers are relaxed in December, food and drink retailers should then see pent up demand translated into extra purchasing for the festive season.” 

Over the last 12 weeks, Lidl has continued to enjoy the strongest growth of all UK supermarkets, with sales up 17 per cent, boosted by the launch of its Lidl Plus loyalty app.

Waitrose also grew 8.6 per cent, helped by increased capacity for online sales. Morrisons was the fastest growing of the big four supermarkets, followed by Tesco, Sainsbury’s then Asda.