The return of warm weather in May has driven sales growth at British supermarkets, with an additional boost expected from the upcoming Euro 2024 soccer
championship, according to industry data published on Friday.
Market researcher NIQ reported a 3.3% year-on-year increase in UK supermarket sales for the four weeks ending May 18, fueled by a brief heatwave in the week ending May 11. This data provides the most current snapshot of UK consumer behavior.
"It was the warm weather that significantly influenced shopper spending at UK supermarkets, more so than food inflation, which is expected to remain around 3% for the next few months," said Mike Watkins, NIQ’s UK head of retailer and business insight.
NIQ's survey indicated that at least 45% of UK households are interested in Euro 2024, with 69% of them planning to watch the matches at home, either alone or with family members.
"This could be a boon for supermarket sales of drinks, snacks, and food for event-driven categories such as barbecues," added Watkins.
The tournament, held in Germany, runs from June 14 to July 14, with both England and Scotland participating.
However, Watkins noted that year-on-year comparisons are challenging because the UK experienced its hottest June on record last year.
Over the 12 weeks to May 18, NIQ highlighted that online retailer Ocado was the fastest-growing UK grocer with a 12.4% increase in sales year-on-year. This was followed by discounter Lidl with 9.0% growth and Marks & Spencer with 7.6% growth.
Market leader Tesco saw a 5.4% increase in sales, while No. 2 Sainsbury's reported a 6.0% rise.
No. 3 Asda continued to lag behind with a 2.7% decline in sales, and discounter Aldi achieved only a 0.7% growth. Photo by Snowmanradio~commonswiki, Wikimedia commons.
