Demand for strawberries and cider help grocery sales surge
Sales at UK supermarkets surged in June as shoppers splashed out on summer staples like strawberries and cider.
Total till sales growth at the grocers soared 5.8 per cent in the four weeks ending July 12, up from 3.8 per cent growth in June, according to new data released today by NielsenIQ (NIQ).
“With three heatwaves in four weeks and the hottest week of the year ending 12th July, the sunny spell hit just as the summer of sport peaked,” NIQ said.
Sales of air conditioners, soft drinks and fresh fruit peaked, with shoppers spending £132m on nearly 60m packs of strawberries in the four week period.
“While not everyone is putting strawberries and cream in sandwiches just yet, Wimbledon did help get them back on shoppers’ minds,” Fraser McKevitt, Worldpanel analyst, said.
Discounters remain the fastest growing channel
Shoppers, however, continued to manage budgets carefully, while retailers have doubled down on value-for-money campaigns and focused on price cuts via member loyalty schemes.
“Price competition among retailers will give shoppers more opportunities to save by comparing prices and shopping around,” Mike Watkins, analysts at NIQ, said.
Watkins added that the outlook for the next six weeks depends on the cost of eating out and the rate of inflation, which has been higher than expected for food.
Worldpanel has estimated that £275 could be added to grocery bills by the end of this year, with inflation at 5.2 per cent in July.
The increase in grocery inflation has been driven by the prices of fresh staples, such as butter, red meat, and chocolate.
“Just under two thirds of households say they are very concerned about the cost of their grocery shopping, and people are adapting their habits to avoid the full impact of price rises,” McKevitt said.
“Own label products, which are often cheaper, continue to be some of the big winners,” he added.