March BIGGEST month on record for grocery sales with households spending extra £63 in supermarkets, according to Kantar
HOUSEHOLDS spent an extra £63 in supermarkets in March, making it the biggest month on record for grocery sales, according to Kantar.
Up to 88 per cent of British households visited a supermarket between Monday March 16 and Thursday March 19.
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This was the same week that Prime Minister Boris Johnson asked Brits to work from home to help stop the spread of coronavirus and relieve the pressure on the NHS.
By Friday of that week, the government had ordered the closure of all pubs, restaurants and fast food outlets, and urged those who are at high risk to self-isolate for 12 weeks.
On average, shoppers were making five trips to the supermarkets during this time, adding up to 42million extra shopping trips in just four days.
The latest figures from the data company show that sales grew by 20.6 per cent compared to the same month last year, making it the fastest rate of growth in over a decade year-on-year.
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Shoppers in London, where the outbreak is reported to be two weeks ahead of the rest of the country, increased their spending by 26 per cent.
Overall sales hit £10.8million, far more than is seen at Christmas time which is traditionally the busiest time of year for supermarkets - Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar pointed out.
It's not just stockpiling that's had an impact on spending - households have also had to adjust to more mouths to feed now that schools are closed.
Those with children over the age of 16 spent £508 this month, up £88.13 more than March 2019, likely to reflect students coming home earlier from college or university during the lockdown.
Working from home combined with the closure of cafes and restaurants means that an extra 503million meals are being eaten at home.
Alcohol sales have also soared by 22 per cent, or an additional £199million, in the past month as self-isolating households recreate the pub over apps like Houseparty and FaceTime.
Frozen food sales also rose by 28 per cent in the same four weeks.
Sales at Lidl shot up the most over the past 12 weeks, rising by 17.6 per cent, closely followed by online retailer Ocado which saw a 12.5 per cent increase.
Here's how to cut the cost of your grocery shop
SAVING on your shop can make a big difference to your wallet. Here are some tips from Hannah Maundrell, editor of Money.co.uk, about how you can cut the cost of your shopping bills:
- Write yourself a list – Only buy items that you need. If it isn’t on your list, don’t put it in the trolley
- Create a budget – Work out a weekly budget for your food shopping
- Never shop hungry – you are far more likely to buy more food if your tummy is rumbling
- Don’t buy pre-chopped veggies or fruit – The extra they’ll charge for chopping can be eye watering
- Use social media – follow your favourite retailers to find out about the latest deals
- Be disloyal – You may want to go to different stores to find the best bargains
- Check the small print – It’s always worth checking the price per kg/lb/litre when comparing offers so you’re making a like for like decision as a bigger box won’t necessarily mean you get more
- Use your loyalty cards – Don’t be afraid to sign up to them all. They all work slightly differently – work out what bonus suits you better and remember to trade in your points for additional rewards
Iceland sales went up by 11.7 per cent and Aldi saw an 11 per cent jump.
Online sales saw a smaller surge of 13 per cent as shoppers added just £6 more to their normal grocery shops.
Even though the Government is advising shoppers to get goods delivered when possible, limited slots means that only 14.6 per cent of households received an online supermarket delivery.
This is up from 13.8 per cent, despite demand being far higher.
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Mr McKevitt said: "We expect restrictions on movement and relatively full grocery cupboards will mean the incredibly high levels of shopping trips made in March will drop off over the coming weeks.
"Regular trips to smaller local stores are likely to continue, as people avoid travelling and queues at stores with one-in-one-out policies in place.
"Sales of long life and non-perishable items will slow as households work their way through stocks and consumers will focus on replenishing their supply of fresh foods.
“While much-reported panic buying has been concentrated to a relatively low number of individuals so far, we anticipate that this too will subside as consumers gain confidence in the retailers’ abilities to maintain grocery supplies and keep stock on the shelves."