Shopping experts Kantar have revealed what they believe will be the single busiest day for supermarkets this year. As people count down to Christmas, supermarket sales are forecast to exceed £13bn over the four weeks of December for the first time ever.
They believe that Monday, December 23, will be the busiest day of the year and might be the best to avoid if you can. Their latest figures also show that the cost of an average Christmas dinner for four has risen to £32.57, up 6.5% on last year, largely driven by the price of turkey and Christmas vegetable staples.
Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar, says: “Monday, December 23 is likely to be the single busiest day for the supermarkets this year, although there are clear signs that shoppers are already stocking up their cupboards. Sales of assorted sweet biscuits and biscuits for cheese both doubled in November compared with the month before, while 8% of us bought a Christmas pudding.
“Many of us take the chance to treat ourselves at this time of year and retailers are rolling out seasonal product lines to help us celebrate in style. The proportion of spending on premium own label products reached 5% over the latest four weeks and we expect it to climb even higher in December to nearly 7%.
“Outside of the food and drink aisles, retailers’ general merchandise lines are also predicted to get a boost. Spending on non-grocery items in the supermarkets leapt by 21% in December 2023 versus the monthly average for that year.”
READ MORE: Boots shoppers snap up half price designer perfume that’s ‘sophistication in a bottle’
READ MORE: ‘Brilliant’ Skechers boots are ‘comfier than slippers’
Mr McKevitt added: “Sales on promotion reached 30% in November, the highest since Christmas last year. It’s retailer price cuts, often accessed through loyalty cards, that are really driving this.
“While multibuy promotions have stayed flat, spending on price cut offers has grown by 14%, worth £355 million more than last year. Shoppers are grabbing the chance to spend that little bit more than usual on Christmas specials, and champagne, wine and spirits saw the biggest levels of buying on deal.” Join our WhatsApp news community here for the latest breaking news. You will receive updates from us daily.