UK grocery sales have fallen, industry research showed on Tuesday, as lockdown restrictions continued to ease and football fans went out to watch Euro 2020.
According to retail consultancy Kantar, grocery sales declined 5.1% in the 12 weeks to 11 July, although shoppers still spent £3bn more than they did in the same period in 2019. Online sales also declined, for the first time ever.
Major sporting events such as international football tournaments traditionally prompt a spike in grocery sales, as fans stock up on alcohol and snacks. Shoppers spent £1.2bn on take-home sales of alcohol, a 24% increase on the same period in 2019, while crisps and snack brands were ahead 23% year-on-two-years.
But sales weakened in the most recent four-week period. Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar, said: “With many fans choosing to make the most of newfound freedoms and watch matches in pubs and bars, take-home sales of alcohol over the four weeks to mid-July were actually down by 3% compared with the previous month.”
Among individual supermarkets, Tesco won its biggest year-on-year share increase since December 2016, rising to 27.1% from 26.7% a year earlier. Its sales eased 3.7% year-on-year, however.
J Sainsbury reported a 3.0% decline in sales, while Asda was off 6.1% and Wm Morrison fell 6.7%. The Co-op, which had benefited from its small local shops during the lockdowns, reported a 14.6% fall in sales.
Only Waitrose and Ocado saw a rise in sales, up 0.1% and 3.0% respectively. Ocado’s growth is slowing, however, from 5.4% in the 12 weeks to 13 June, and 15.4% in the 12 weeks to 16 May.
Overall, online grocery sales growth declined for the first time ever, off 2.6%, as people returned to physical stores, workplaces and restaurants. Digital baskets shrank 8% to an average of £80 per shop, the lowest since February 2020.
The channel now accounts for 13.3% of the total market, compared to 13.4% in the previous three-month period.
Kantar said grocery inflation was -1.5% in the 12 weeks to 11 July. Some of the fastest rising prices were in recorded in ambient cakes and pastries, savoury snacks and cat food, while they fell in fresh bacon, ambient cooking sauces, and vegetables.
