Supermarket sales in December hit a record £13.8bn but volumes declined as growth came in below grocery inflation, with hard-pressed shoppers leaning heavily on promotions in the run-up to Christmas, the latest data from Worldpanel by Numerator has revealed this morning.
Grocery inflation eased from 4.7% in November to 4.3% last month and sales growth totalled 3.8% year on year as shoppers clocked up an average spend of £476 at the supermarkets over the festive period, an additional £15 versus Christmas 2024.
Discounters Aldi and Lidl recorded their biggest-ever Christmas share as more households looked to save money last month. The pair reached a total share of 16.8%, while the large format grocers accounted for 60.3% of sales over the four weeks to 28 December.
Own label lines also benefited from consumer budgeting, with premium lines ending up in 92% of shoppers’ baskets and exceeding £1bn in sales for the first time over the month. It represented growth of 9% as own label made up 7.5% of overall sales. The highest spend was recorded in fresh meat (£115m in sales) and chilled snacks such as finger food, dips and antipasti (£80m).
Spending on promotions and deals hit the highest level since December 2019 to reach 33.3% of total sales, compared with 32% in the same period of 2024. Households spent an additional £36m on discounted fresh vegetables compared with last Christmas, capitalising on an escalation of the festive price wars.
“Easing inflation helped to take the edge off the cost of Christmas this year, giving households a little more room to spend,” said Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Worldpanel.
“It was a Christmas of smart savings and considered choices – almost every household bought into supermarkets’ premium ranges, while price remained front of mind. Discounters enjoyed their biggest-ever Christmas share, and shoppers leaned on their loyalty cards to get the best deals.”
Monday 22 December was the busiest day for grocery sales this Christmas, but shoppers made the most trips the following day, spending less but topping up on last-minute essentials.
Christmas winners and losers
And more British households turned to online channels for their festive shopping this year, with online retail growing at 7.5% and reaching a total share of 12.2%.
It meant Ocado was once again the fastest-growing grocer over the 12 weeks to 28 December as sales increased 15%. However, the online retailer’s share remained relatively small at 2.1%, up from 1.9% last year.
Asda was the only mainstream supermarket to register a decline over the 12-week period. Its sales fell 4.2% to leave it with share of 11.4%.
Lidl made the greatest gain in market share among the supermarkets, adding 0.5 percentage points to claim 7.8% of the market – a record for the discounter over the festive period. Sales growth of 10% meant Lidl was the fastest-growing bricks-and-mortar retailer, following a 5.8% footfall increase. Aldi’s recorded a more modest sales growth of 3.9% over the 12 weeks to put its share at 10.1%.
Sainsbury’s market share in December reached 16.3%, up from 16% last year. With growth of 5.2%, it maintained the run of exceeding 5% growth every month since June 2025.
Tesco sales were 4.3% higher than in 2024, with its share rising by 0.2 percentage points to 28.7%, the greatest proportion of the market since March 2015. Waitrose also grew ahead of the market, with sales up by 4.5% and its share moving up to 4.7% from 4.6% last year. The upmarket supermarket saw an increase in the average amount spent on a trip by 6.5%, outpacing gains in competitors.
Morrisons share stood at 8.5%, slightly down on a year ago, and its sales grew 2.6%.
Beyond the supermarkets, grocery sales at M&S were 7.2% higher over the 12-week period.
Co-op was also in negative territory over the 12 weeks, with sales down 1.3%. Its market shares is now at 5.1%, down from 5.3% a year ago. Iceland has a 2.3% share and pushed sales 3.4% higher.
Category spending
Seasonal chocolate tubs remained on almost a quarter of shoppers’ lists despite prices soaring above £5 for the first time and average pack sizes shrinking by 5% to 551g. Worldpanel said sales rose by 19% in the four weeks to Christmas as nearly one million more shoppers bought into the category.
Alcoholic drinks for December’s festive moments were purchased by three-quarters of British shoppers, while the low & no alcohol category saw a 14% rise in spend, bought by 2.7 million households. Despite this, the proportion of households choosing low & no options edged down slightly, from 9.6% to 9.5%.
“Over the last five years, the number of households cutting alcohol out of their shopping basket altogether has steadily increased,” McKevitt added. “Alongside this, we’ve seen a rapid rise in sales of low & no alcohol alternatives.
“However, the slight dip in the numbers of buyers in December may signal that the category is beginning to mature, while the rise in sales shows that converted households are doubling down on their favourite low & no alcohol tipples.
“What’s clear is that as consumers, we’re open to more variance during those traditional, festive moments – whether it’s switching the Bucks Fizz for kombucha or enjoying a classic cocktail alongside a more health-focused option, consumers are finding enjoyment in more choice.”
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