NielsenIQ figures confirm Christmas spending well ahead of last two years

The figures show that shoppers spent £7.1bn at UK supermarkets in the two weeks ending 25 December, up 9.4% on last year and 14.5% on 2019.

Nielsen said that not only did the figures comfortably beat the previous two years spending, but were also up on pre-Christmas predictions.

Increased spending was in the context of fewer online shops, which were down 1.7% compared to last year, and more in-store visits, which were up 6.3%.

The NielsenIQ data also revealed that certain categories did particularly well, including soft drinks and vegetarian burgers (up 19% on last year).

Mike Watkins, NielsenIQ’s UK head of retailer and business insight, said: “Omnichannel purchasing, shopping around, and entertaining at home were the big shopping trends over the festive period.

“All retailers had more shoppers than this time last year and most had more visits, even if spend per visit was a little lower at just over £21.

“British consumers are continuing to adopt an omnichannel approach and whilst online allows them to plan ahead, shoppers are increasingly heading in-store for a regular weekly shop as well as for last-minute purchases and we can expect this behaviour to continue.”