Grocers set for record £12bn Xmas sales boom

SUPERMARKETS are set for a £12bn Christmas shopping bonanza as families stuck at home splash out record sums on food and drink.

The industry is heading for its best ever month in December as families spend £16m per hour, says research group Kantar.

Consumers have diverted spending from struggling restaurants to Christmas. Sales figures for December will be £1.5bn higher than the same month last year and £1.1bn higher than November, which was an all-time record.

Christmas lights sales are 238pc higher, turkey sales are up 36pc and families spent 33pc more on alcohol in supermarkets.

The average UK household has already spent a record £4,206 on groceries this year. The second lockdown pushed their sales even higher with Kantar reporting overall growth of 13.9pc in the four weeks to November 29.

In a sign of the times, more than 6m households shopped for food online in November, the most ever. A record 13.7pc of all grocery sales are now digital.

Industry leaders believe the trend will outlast the pandemic and have rushed to snap up market share – Ocado sales rose 38.3pc in the 12 weeks to November 29. Waitrose sales rose 13.2pc and Iceland sales jumped 21pc,

Morrisons remained the fastest growing of the Big Four, with sales rising 13.7pc, compared to 10.8pc at Sainsbury’s, 10.4pc at Tesco and 7.7pc at Asda. Aldi’s 7pc growth was outstripped by a 13.9pc sales rise at Lidl, which gave it a record 6.2pc market share.