6th Jan 2026 09:21
(Alliance News) - Easing grocery price inflation allowed UK shoppers to spend an average of GBP476 at the supermarket in December – up GBP15 on a year before, figures showed on Tuesday.
UK grocery prices were 4.3% higher than a year earlier, slowing from November's 4.7% annual increase, offering modest relief to households, according to market research firm Worldpanel by Numerator, formerly Kantar.
The festive month saw a record GBP13.8 billion in take-home grocery sales – up 3.8% year on year – with 92% of shoppers indulging in premium own-label products and sales of the lines exceeding GBP1 billion for the first time.
The highest spending was in fresh meat, reaching sales of GBP115 million, and GBP80 million in sales of chilled snacks such as finger food, dips, and antipasti.
However spending on promotions and deals also rose from 32% last year to 33.3% – the highest proportion of overall sales since December 2019, before the onset of the pandemic.
Despite the typical price of seasonal chocolate tubs rising above GBP5 for the first time and average pack sizes shrinking by 5% to 551g, sales rose by 19% in the four weeks to Christmas as nearly one million more shoppers bought the treats.
Households spent an additional GBP36 million on discounted fresh vegetables compared with last Christmas.
Traditional, large format supermarkets accounted for 60% of sales over the four-week period, but the discounters had their biggest share of sales at Christmas, reaching a total of 17%.
Scottish households were the most likely to buy seasonal chocolate tubs, sweets and sparkling wine, while gravy granules were most popular in the north of England, and shoppers in the South favoured fortified wines, mince pies and Christmas puddings.
Three quarters of British shoppers bought alcoholic drinks for the festivities, while the low and no-alcohol category saw a 14% rise in spending, bought by 2.7 million households.
Despite this, the proportion of households choosing no and low-alcohol drinks edged down slightly, from 9.6% to 9.5%.
Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Worldpanel, said: "It was a Christmas of smart savings and considered choices – almost every household bought into supermarkets' premium ranges, while price remained front of mind.
"Discounters enjoyed their biggest-ever Christmas share, and shoppers leaned on their loyalty cards to get the best deals."
McKevitt added: "Over the last five years, the number of households cutting alcohol out of their shopping basket altogether has steadily increased. Alongside this, we've seen a rapid rise in sales of low and no-alcohol alternatives.
"However, the slight dip in the numbers of buyers in December may signal that the category is beginning to mature, while the rise in sales shows that converted households are doubling down on their favourite low and no- alcohol tipples."
Ocado Retail, a joint venture of Ocado Group PLC and Marks & Spencer Group PLC, was once again the fastest growing UK grocer, with sales increasing by 15% over the 12 weeks to December 28 compared to the same period a year ago, and accounting for 2.1% of the market.
Lidl made the greatest gain in market share among the supermarkets, adding 0.5 percentage point to claim 7.8% of the market.
J Sainsbury PLC's market share in December reached 16.3%, up from 16% last year, while
Tesco PLC's sales were 4.3% higher than in 2024 to take a market share of 28.7%.
Waitrose moved up to 4.7% share from 4.6% last year, increasing the average amount spent on a trip by 6.5%, outpacing gains by its competitors.
By Josie Clarke, Press Association Consumer Affairs Correspondent
source: PA
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