UK shoppers to splash out £20.3bn on groceries this Christmas
British shoppers are on course to spend £20.3bn on groceries over the festive period, an increase of 1.4 per cent on the £20bn spent in 2014, according to research from IGD.
The grocery industry body said shoppers are feeling more upbeat about Christmas this year, with almost a fifth (19 per cent) of people surveyed saying they plan to spend more on food and drink than the previous year.
That is an increase on the 16 per cent who said they planned to spend more in 2014. Around 18 per cent of people said they will spend more on their Christmas meal and a quarter said they will spend more on Christmas presents compared to 2014.
Separate figures from American Express predict shoppers will splurge an average of £1,490 over Christmas on everything from turkeys to toys. This includes £125 per person on festive food shopping and £355 on gifts.
Shop prices fell by 2.1 per cent in November, marking the 31st consecutive month of deflation for the index overall, according to data from the British Retail Consortium.
Meanwhile Asda’s latest income tracker revealed that the average UK household had £193 of discretionary income in October, up £17 – or 9.6 per cent – on the same time last year as fuel and food costs fell.
IGD chief executive, Joanne Denney-Finch, said: “Shoppers will continue to reap the benefit of a protracted period of deflation, with falling commodity and energy costs, combining with ferocious competition in food retailing. The result has been 16 consecutive months of falling food and drink prices – unheard of in the post-war era.”
IGD’s poll of over 1,000 people also found that well over half (56 per cent) said that they plan to visit two or more stores on the same trip to buy their food and groceries at Christmas.
“Supermarkets will remain by far the most popular destination but discounters, specialist stores (such as butchers) and convenience stores are also favoured by many. People are shopping around and spreading their spending across a growing number of formats,” Denney-Finch said.
Around 17 per cent of Britons said they plan to do their big Christmas shop online compared to 14 per cent last year. Overall, half of shoppers intend to buy some food and groceries online, including via click and collect.