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Industry News
Consumers seize the chance to enjoy Christmas
Grocery sales reached £31.7bn over the 12 weeks to 26 December 2021 as shoppers made the most of Christmas festivities, new research reveals.
Data from Kantar shows that people seized the chance to enjoy Christmas with friends and family after last year’s muted festivities, and grocery sales hit £11.7bn over the month of December.
The data shows premium own-label sales broke records this Christmas and shoppers spent £627m on retailer’s own premium lines over the four weeks to 26 December, an increase of 6.8% versus 2020. The appetite to celebrate and splash out that little bit more this year pushed sales of luxury own-brand products up across the board. Sparkling and still wine sales grew 22% and 18% respectively, while crisps surged by 31%.
In addition, sales of sweet treats reached £62m in December, a jump of 7% on 2020. A similar amount, £61m, was spent on Christmas chocolates too, with sales soaring by 21%. It looks like people came prepared for indulgent celebrations and indigestion remedy sales also rose by 8%.
More than a quarter (26%) of adult smokers in the UK are likely to explore smoke-free products in 2022, an independent survey carried out by Lake Research on behalf of Philip Morris reveals.
The research shows that 61% of smokers said they would feel comfortable asking their local retailer for advice on what smoke-free products might be right for them in 2022. Meanwhile, 58% of respondents believed they hadn’t yet found a satisfying alternative to cigarette smoking to help them quit, and 32% wished they knew about a better range of options available to them.
The survey revealed several challenges local retailers may need to consider to better support adult smokers switch to alternative products. Only 17% of smokers were likely to ask retailers what smoke-free products they stock and for recommendations on what alternatives might be right for them. In addition, 65% of smokers were unlikely to ask which alternatives matched their preferences, such as taste and nicotine strength, and for information they could take away from the point of sale to find out more.
‘One in three’ go low or no
UK consumers are increasingly choosing low and no alcohol products all year round and not just for Dry January, according to the fourth annual online study by drinks watchdog The Portman Group, carried out in December.
Carried out by YouGov, the report found that almost one in three (32%) UK drinkers now ‘semi-regularly’ consume low and no alcohol products compared to one in four (25%) in 2020. A fi fth (20%) of those who have tried low and no alcohol say they are more likely to drink these products now compared to a year ago, almost double the number saying this in last year’s survey (11%). The most popular reason given is ‘being able to drive home from social events’ (33% of respondents) while healthier consumption concerns were cited by 22% of consumers. More than one in 10 consumers (12%) said they currently alternate between low or no products and regular strength alcohol to moderate their overall consumption. However, well over half (58%) of non-drinkers have never even tried a low or no product and just 14% are semi-regular consumers.
