This summer, the UK has seen the highest increase in supermarket sales since 2013, for the four weeks ending 13 August 2016.
Nielsen’s latest report has shown that the value of sales has been up by 0.9%, compared to this time last year. This figure is the best on record, bar Easter and Christmas, since the week ending 9 November 2013, while sales volumes have increased by 1.0%, the best since 28 March 2015.
The hike in sales has been attributed to Britain’s success at the Olympics and the hot weather, as ice cream, beefburgers, mineral water and sparkling wine all saw an increase in sales at supermarkets this summer.
“The stellar Team GB performances at the Olympics combined with the hot weather, particularly in mid-July, helped supermarkets to their own personal best for some time,” says Mike Watkins, Nielsen’s UK head of retailer and business insight.
“Brexit seems to have been replaced by an Olympic feel-good factor among shoppers, and there were more visits to buy food and drink in the last four weeks than this time last year, with most retailers benefitting from an increase in shopper penetration.”
Soft drinks were the highest-performing category, with sales up 9.3%, particularly mineral water, which saw a hike of 18.5%. Ice-cream sales, notably hand-held ice cream, rose by a massive 41%.
Beefburgers led the sales in the produce category, with a rise of 19%, while strawberries saw an increase of 15% throughout UK supermarkets.
Beer and cider sales rose 6.9%, in the beer, wine and spirits division, but the clear winner in this section was sparkling wine, with a huge 13.9% increase in sales.
© 2016 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Aoife Lawless. To subscribe to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine, click here.
