Aldi and Asda triumph in ‘disloyal’ Christmas

The supermarkets shared £4bn in last-minute sales before Christmas, according to new data from Nielsen.

Sales of soft drinks, crisps and snacks showed the strongest growth in the final week before Christmas, alongside cheese and meats from the deli counter.

“The initial delay in spending in early December, followed by a £4bn surge in the final week before Christmas, made this one of the biggest pre-Christmas weeks for UK food retailers,” said Nielsen’s Mike Watkins.

“Very cold weather in the week before Christmas 2010 amplified growths in 2011.”

Heavy discounting saw sales of non-food items also pick up.

Reversing previous disappointing Christmases, Asda was a winner over the 2011 festive period. It saw growth of almost 11% this time around, growing well ahead of Waitrose (9%), Sainsbury’s (7%) and Morrisons (6%).

But Aldi showed the most dramatic growth, up more than 40% in December.

“Overall, this was a disloyal Christmas,” said Watkins. “Retailers experienced more shopper visits and more ‘new’ shoppers than last year, as consumers shopped around for choice and range as well as the best deals and deepest promotions.”