Lidl GB has reported its biggest Christmas trading period on record, after welcoming a record number of shoppers through its doors and delivering double-digit sales growth over the festive season.
The discounter said sales rose 10 per cent year on year in the four weeks to Christmas Eve, with turnover exceeding £1.1 billion during the period. Monday 22 December proved to be the busiest trading day of the season, while Tuesday 23 December recorded the highest footfall as shoppers made last-minute festive purchases.
Shopper numbers increased by 8 per cent compared with last year, with nearly 51 million customers visiting Lidl stores over the Christmas period – almost four million more than in 2024.
Lidl attributed the strong performance to sustained investment in price, supported by its ‘We Won’t Be Beaten on Price’ commitment and a Christmas dinner for eight priced at £1.24 per person. Over the course of 2025, the discounter invested £300 million in keeping prices low, while continuing to back British suppliers through its long-term sourcing model.
British products proved particularly popular, with best-sellers including Valley Spire Cheese Truckles and Deluxe hand-cooked crisps among the festive top sellers. Demand for British vegetables surged during the retailer’s ‘Pick of the Week’ promotion, with shoppers buying more than 11,000 tonnes of seasonal produce in the week leading up to Christmas Eve – a 70 per cent year-on-year increase. Easy-peeler clementines alone saw an uplift of almost 40 per cent.
Shoppers also began preparing for Christmas earlier than ever, Lidl said, with more than 30 million mince pies sold from September onwards. Non-food categories delivered strong growth too, with the Middle of Lidl driving impulse purchases. Wooden toy sales rose by almost a quarter year on year, with Lidl named the number one retailer of wooden toys in Europe after selling more than half a million units in the first few days on sale.
Seasonal demand extended across greeting cards and home décor, with more than nine million Christmas cards and over one million candles sold during the period. Meanwhile, Lidl Plus continued to support trading momentum, with active users up 28 per cent in November and redemptions rising 43 per cent year on year. The return of the retailer’s Advent Calendar campaign in December drove millions of daily engagements and a more than 400 per cent increase in redemptions compared with the previous year.
Premium own-label ranges also performed strongly. Sales of Comte de Senneval Champagne rose by 260 per cent in Lidl’s busiest week, boosted by a Lidl Plus promotion that reduced the price to £9.99. The refreshed Deluxe party food range delivered triple-digit growth, while pistachio emerged as the standout festive flavour, with almost 100 tonnes of pistachio-based products sold.
Ryan McDonnell, CEO of Lidl GB, said: “2025 was a record-breaking Christmas for Lidl – with more customers choosing to shop with us than ever before. By continuing to invest in low prices and champion British food, all without compromising on quality, we’ve seen loyalty soar.”
Alongside trading success, Lidl highlighted the return of its nationwide Toy Bank scheme, which has helped provide more than 275,000 toys since launching in 2022. Working with Neighbourly, the retailer also awarded £154,000 in festive grants to local charities and redistributed more than 3.6 million meals to over 600 community groups.