UK shoppers spent an extra £2.5 billion (€2.8 billion) on lager, wine, spirits and meat in supermarkets this year, according to new data from Nielsen for The Grocer’s annual Top Products survey.
The sales of lager, wine, and spirits sold in supermarkets increased by £2.1 billion (€2.3 billion), while meat sales grew by £438.9 million (€483.5 million).
Lager emerged as the fastest-growing grocery category of 2020, with sales up £791.9 million (€872.4 million) to £4.4 billion (€4.9 billion).
Corona was one of the lager brands to see the highest growth of £68 million, the study found.
Wine and spirits also witnessed massive gains of £717.4 million and £566.8 million, respectively.
Big Winner
The meat category also emerged as another 'big winner', with sales increasing by £438.9 million, the study noted.
Beef was the fastest growing product of the year, excluding tobacco, with sales up £161.8 million, followed by sausages (+£125.9 million, and chicken(+£120.4 million).
The study highlighted that this contrasted with 2019, when beef sales witnessed the biggest decline across all categories.
The shift is partly attributed to consumers taking the roast dinner and BBQs in-house and hot school meals on hold due to the pandemic.
Fastest-Falling Category
Cosmetics was the fastest-falling category of 2020, with sales down £182.8 million as people spent more time at home.
Other personal care products that were impacted include deodorants (-£47.1 million), hair styling (-£37.5 million), and toothbrush (-£28.5 million).
The sales of chilled ready meals also suffered a £74.2 million slump as Brits cooked from scratch more often, data showed.
Tobacco sales grew by £971.9 million, with rolling tobacco accounting for £684.4 million of the total.
© 2020 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Dayeeta Das. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
