Grocery sales slowed in July: NIQ

Grocery sales at supermarkets slowed in July, states a recent market report, while shoppers continue to seek out value by looking for bargains.

According to data from NIQ, sales at UK supermarkets have slowed to a 8.9 per cent rise in the four weeks to 15th July 2023, down from June 2023’s 12.4 per cent.

Volume sales were at -3.6 per cent, with cooler and wetter weather seeing less additional spending compared with last year, when summer heatwaves were happening. Growth slowed for dairy products (+9.4 per cent) and frozen foods (+7 per cent) following retailer price cuts, but there was an increase in sales of confectionery (+16.5 per cent), packaged grocery (+13.4 per cent) and crisps and snacks (+12.8 per cent).

The rising cost of living was also affecting shopping trends, with promotional activity accounting for 22.5 per cent of grocery sales, up from 20 per cent in the same period last year.

Mike Watkins, UK head of retailer and business insight at NIQ, said: “Shoppers continue to seek out value by looking for bargains, we’re seeing them become more channel agnostic and less likely to remain loyal to many supermarkets.

“Over the next eight weeks, we expect to see a similar pattern on spending with little improvement in volume sales as school holidays kick off. The battleground for shopper loyalty is now shifting – retailers must be prepared to build on the trend to shop little and more often when consumers revert to their usual shopping patterns post holidays.”

There were also sales increases for Aldi (+22.3 per cent) and Lidl (+17.9 per cent), and a growing demand for the value retail chains, like B&M, Home Bargains and Poundland, where fast-moving consumer good sales increased 11 per cent.