Shoppers will turn to premium own label products for affordable Christmas treats, lifting sales to a record £1bn in December, Wordpanel (formerly Kantar) has predicted.
Sales of these goods reached £582m in October, and Wordpanel has forecasted that the category could see its value double as Christmas edges nearer.
“It’s important to remember that shoppers often look for great value and quality, not just the cheapest product,” said Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Worldpanel.
“At Christmas especially people want to treat themselves and throughout the cost of living crisis we’ve seen them turning to retailers’ premium own label lines to do that in a way that’s more affordable.”
Grocery price inflation has slowed to 4.7% this month as retailers ramp up promotions ahead of Christmas, according to new figures from Wordpanel.
Symbols and independents recorded lower sales for the 12 weeks to 2 November, down 3.7% year-on-year. Meanwhile, Co-op’s sales dropped 1.4%.
Home delivery is thriving
Online grocery continues its strong growth with an 11% increase in home delivery spending this month. Every retailer who offers the service is “boosting sales”, said Wordpanel.
“Online growth is primarily being driven by the already converted as existing shoppers continue to value the convenience of the format and make more orders,” added McKevitt. “On average, households who use online grocery now buy three shops a month, making up a whopping 61% of their spending at the grocers.”
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