The latest grocery data from Kantar shows grocery sales growth slowed to 14.4 in the 12 weeks to 9 August 2020, as the market begins to move away from the heights of the lockdown period. According to Kantar, ‘Grocery spend of £9.7 billion over the past four weeks makes it the lowest since February, although this is still considerably higher than pre-pandemic levels.’
Charlotte Scott, consumer insight director at Kantar, said, “While things are far from normal, the data shows a gradual softening of the more extreme lockdown trends in the grocery market. The relaxing of rules across much of the country means shoppers are less inclined to stock up their cupboards with regular large trips. That has seen average spend drop below £25 for the first time since March. However, at £24, it is still a world away from the pre-Covid average of £19 per trip.
“Although the current average of 14 shopping trips per month per household is lower than it was last month, it is higher than in April and May, when lockdown rules were much tighter. So, while some consumers have shopped more often in the past month, the story varies in different parts of the country, with localised lockdowns and slower openings resulting in people making fewer trips in the North, the Midlands and Wales.”
The period also saw the introduction of mandatory face coverings for visiting shops in England, and the number of supermarket trips was two million less than would have usually been expected in the week after the rule was adopted. However, online shopping reached another new record market share in the latest four weeks, with 13.5 per cent of all sales now ordered through the internet, with Ocado being major beneficiary of the trend.
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