10 December 2024, 11:24
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The cost of a Christmas dinner has soared this year, well ahead of inflation, experts have warned.
A traditional festive meal for four costs £32.57 on average, a 6.5% rise on £30.58 last year, according to analysts Kantar.
The increase is significantly higher than overall grocery inflation of 2.6%, which is up again on November’s 2.3%.
The price of potatoes rose the most, going up 16.2% to £1.65 on average, Kantar found.
The cost of cauliflower has gone up 14.6% while parsnips rose 12.7% in price.
A turkey – one of the most expensive items in the basket – rose by 8.5%.
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The only item not to increase in price was sparkling wine.
Despite the rising prices, sales across the supermarkets are expected to exceed £13 billion over the four weeks of December for the first time ever.
Sales of assorted sweet biscuits and biscuits for cheese both doubled in November compared with the month before, while 8% of shoppers bought a Christmas pudding.
The proportion of spending on premium own-label products reached 5% over the latest four weeks, and is expected to climb to almost 7% in December, Kantar said.
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Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar, said: “Monday December 23 is likely to be the single busiest day for the supermarkets this year, although there are clear signs that shoppers are already stocking up their cupboards.
“Many of us take the chance to treat ourselves at this time of year and retailers are rolling out seasonal product lines to help us celebrate in style.”
Meanwhile, sales on promotion reached 30% in November, the highest since Christmas last year and driven by deals accessed through supermarket loyalty cards, as shoppers traded up to festive treats including Champagne, wine and spirits.
Britain’s largest grocer Tesco achieved its highest market share since December 2017 to reach 28.1%, up from 27.4% in 2023, as its sales grew by 5.2% in the 12 weeks to December.
Sainsbury’s share increased by 0.3 percentage points to 15.9%, and spending through its tills was 4.7% higher than last year.
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Mr McKevitt added: “The number of different retailers we visit in the run up to Christmas is higher than at other times during the year, including wider high street brands like M&S.
“Just under one in three households, at 32%, bought food, drink and other groceries to have at home from M&S during the 12 weeks to December 1 and looking at grocery sales alone, spending at M&S rose by 10.4%.”
Lidl was the fastest growing bricks-and-mortar grocer, with sales up by 6.6%, while spending at Morrisons rose by 2% to reach 8.6% of the market.
Waitrose grew slightly ahead of the market, with spending increasing by 2.6% to maintain a 4.4% share, and spending at Aldi grew by 2.1% to give the discounter 10.3% of the market.
Co-op claimed 5.5% of the market and Asda has a 12.3% share.