Shoppers cut back on their food bills this month to make up for treating themselves over the Easter holidays.
Supermarket till sales grew just 3% in the four weeks to 17 May, down from 9.6% the month before, new data from NIQ has shown.
It means volume sales at the supermarkets were down 1.4% compared with the same period a year ago.
“There has been a reset in spending in recent weeks despite the continued good weather, which is indicative of a change in shopper behaviour after Easter,” said Mike Watkins, NIQ’s head of retailer and business insight.
“Shoppers are still prepared to indulge but are holding back spending on some categories such as household, pet and also some frozen foods”.
The warm weather and sunshine led to a boost for soft drinks and ice cream, with value sales up 6.7% and 13.0% respectively. However, beer, wine and spirits struggled with sales down 2.1%.
In-visits were up 7% compared with this time last year, as shoppers took advantage of ongoing retailer promotions, said NIQ. Almost a quarter of fmcg sales were on promotion, down slightly from the five-year high at Easter.
Online sales were relatively weaker, with sales falling 1.7% against this time last year and online’s share of grocery sales down slightly at 12.3%.
“Consumer confidence improved a little in May but it is still negative and shoppers are uncertain about their personal finances,” Watkins added.
“The settled warmer weather gave retailers a boost as shoppers were able to plan more outdoor activities and enjoy al fresco dining, as well as bring forward spend on fresh foods and drinks.
“However, with shop price inflation in food starting to move up, we expect total till value growth to now remain at around 3% in June.”
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