The effect of the second lockdown has adversely affected many sectors of the UK economy. But it has on the other hand been nothing but a boost to the grocery sector which saw a substantial increase in its sales recently.
This was confirmed by market researcher Kantar reporting a rise of 11.3% in the grocery sales in the 12 weeks to Nov. 29 year-on-year, with 10.9 billion pounds spent, as the country went into a stricter month of restrictions to curb the rise in coronavirus cases.
During almost a month of nationwide restrictions, all non-essential shops were shut along with pubs, cafes and restaurants. This left shoppers with no other option but to head to supermarkets and local grocers.
It seems grocery shoppers are back to their pre-lockdown levels according to Fraser McKevitt, the Head of Retail and Consumer Insight at Kantar who said “November as a whole saw shopper frequency hit its highest level since the beginning of the pandemic, suggesting more confidence among people going into stores”
Some shoppers also became more confident in their online shopping over the second lockdown. According to Kantar, digital platforms contributed to 13.7% of the total grocery sales in the UK over November. Setting a new record for online grocery shoppers in the country.
The increase in the sales of groceries is likely to continue over December, a month known for its high demand over the Christmas period.
Kantar projected that Britons will spend around 12 billion pounds on groceries in December, around 1.5 million pounds more than during the same month last year. The build-up for Christmas started even earlier this year with the same report detailing a 36% rise in the sales of turkeys and a 33% increase in the sales of Alcohol.