Supermarkets reap rewards of World Cup spending bonanza

Supermarkets have reaped the rewards of a World Cup spending spree, as till sales jumped 4.4% last month.

Brits bought the equivalent of 314 million pints of lager in the four weeks to 11 July, with World Cup excitement compounding the benefits of back-to-back heatwaves.

Data released this morning by NIQ showed 3.8% growth across all grocery retail, as supermarkets’ strong performance was moderated by convenience stores’ modest 2.5% gain.

England’s progress through the tournament provided a “significant boost” for retailers, with the squad’s impetus failing only with the defeat to Argentina on 15 July – after the period measured by NIQ.

Amid strong performances for impulse purchases such as snacks, soft drinks and confectionery (+7.4%), frozen (+7%) and alcohol (+5%), shoppers increasingly turned to the convenience of rapid delivery platforms, as England games broadcast from the Americas were shown as late as 2am.

Online sales outperformed every other channel, up 9%, and rapid delivery growth took its highest-ever share of online fmcg sales on the day of England’s quarter-final match, with 14% of sales.

Lager was a “standout performer”, according to NIQ, up 12.9% on last year – but this growth was eclipsed by a 31.1% spike in pre-mixed alcoholic drink sales. 

Overall, soft drinks outpaced those with alcohol at 10.6% value growth – though that included a 17.9% jump in low & no-alcohol sales.

Despite the boost to sales, shoppers remained cautious, with 66% describing themselves as being either severely or moderately impacted by the cost of living. In consequence, promotion was a key driver of growth, with 25% of all sales in the period on promotion compared to 23.5% a year ago.

Of the supermarkets, NIQ placed Ocado as the World Cup winner at 17.3%, closely followed by M&S (+16.7%). Lidl came next at 9.1% growth, as it gained market share through store openings and new customers, while Co-op (+8.5%) benefitted from an increase in local shopping.

Sainsbury’s growth (+4.1%) outpaced both Morrisons (+3.6%) and Tesco (+2.9%). Asda was the only supermarket to lose sales (–2.4%).

While the past four weeks have proved a strong period for supermarkets, the gains made were largely thanks to the World Cup, according to NIQ’s head of retailer and business insight Mike Watkins, who pointed out that the country had also been caught in a heatwave in the comparison period a year ago.

“It’s unusual to have like-for-like heatwaves and this means supermarkets will have missed out on some incremental sales, with most of the growth due to the FIFA World Cup. Nevertheless, unit growth of +1.1% across the industry was the best in 12 months as shoppers enjoyed all that the season has to offer with BBQs, picnics and social events,” he said.

“The good news is that the hot weather is expected to continue until at least the end of July. With the World Cup now over, retailers will look to some inspiring media campaigns supported by some new promotions, to encourage shoppers to keep spending with the summer holiday season underway. This will be important for sustaining growth ahead of shoppers reverting to their usual shopping patterns in September.”