Ahead of the regular monthly Total Till release due later in January, analysts NielsenIQ have just released some initial top line data after what it terms a ’cautious’ Christmas spend in UK grocery for 2025.
After a slow start, it was the biggest ever Christmas over the four weeks to 27 December, with shoppers spending £19.6bn - a growth of +2.5% vs 2024. However, unit growth was weaker, at -0.2%.
For the major supermarkets total till sales grew +3%, it added. eCommerce was the fastest growing channel at 9.9%.
It also notes that the level of promotions increased from 25% in November to 27% in December.
Mike Watkins, head of retailer and business insight at NielsenIQ, said: “Christmas 2025 was in line with expectations. Consumers were cautious and this led to more considered purchasing, buying only what was needed helped by seasonal price reductions but still finding money to treat themselves.
“Online was the winning channel as consumers looked to the convenience of on and offline purchasing.”
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