Grocery shopping habits stabilise with over 7 per cent sales boost on 2019 

Take home grocery sales fell by 1.9 per cent year on year in the 12 weeks to 31 October 2021, but are still higher than before the pandemic, up 7.3 per cent compared with 2019, according to the latest figures from Kantar.

“Our shopping habits are beginning to settle at a new baseline as we’ve adapted our lifestyles through the pandemic. The general trend towards bigger, less frequent trips to the supermarket seems set to stay,” Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar, commented.

Shoppers visited the store 15.7 times in the past month on average, a slight increase from the 15.3 trips at this time in 2020. But consumers are still making 40 million fewer trips per month than they were in 2019.

“At this rate of change, it would take three years to get back to our old shopping patterns,” McKevitt noted.

Online sales have also levelled out, with digital sales accounting for 12.4 per cent of the total grocery market for the second month in a row. A fifth of households consistently order groceries online each month, becoming long term converts.

Shoppers are also keen to make the most of calendar milestones this year as they prepare for an extra special festive season.

“After a tough 18 months, consumers are gearing up for bigger and better celebrations. An unrestricted Halloween drove sales of pumpkins up 26 per cent in the four weeks to 31 October, and with trick or treating back on the cards seasonal confectionery grew by 27 per cent,” McKevitt said, adding that shoppers are preparing early this year for Christmas.

“4.7 million households bought mince pies this month. Customers are also getting ahead on shopping for the big day itself. Frozen poultry sales are 27 per cent higher year on year, with people spending an additional £6.1 million in the latest four weeks. 1.6 million households bought their Christmas pudding this month as well, 400,000 more than last year,” he explained.

Compared with the equivalent period in 2019, all retailers boosted their sales in the latest 12 weeks, with symbols and independents seeing a growth of 3.3 per cent. Ocado achieved the strongest increase in sales compared with two years ago, growing by 35.7 per cent.