Inflation evident at tail end of 2021
CHRISTMAS dinner was more costly for consumers in 2021, according to the latest grocery sales data from Kantar.
Take home grocery sales figures for the 12 weeks to 28 November revealed the price of a Christmas dinner for four hit £27.48, 3.8% higher than the previous year.
Christmas dinner wasn’t the only inflationary pressure faced by consumers at the end of last year, with Kantar reporting grocery inflation of 3.2% – the highest level since June 2020.
Despite this, Kantar found rising prices are yet to have a “major impact” on shopper behaviour.
Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar, said: “Habits we’d expect to see shift, like swapping branded products for own label or seeking out promotions, haven’t altered just yet.”
One trend that did develop over the festive period was an increase in sales for premium products.
NielsenIQ data for the four weeks to 4 December found the average value of a shopping basket was 2.6% higher than the previous year.
Growth across products included celebration cakes (+15.6%), premixed alcohol drinks (+13.7), fresh olives (+7.4%) and fresh pizza (+13.1%).
Online grocery sales were down by 13% on the previous year, although this was set against a backdrop of stricter Covid restrictions in 2020.
