Wet weather and falling inflation have caused takeaway sales at supermarkets to rise at their slowest rate in two years, new figures show.
Food sales rose just 1 percent in the four weeks to June 9, market research organization Kantar said, compared with 2.9 percent in the previous four weeks.
Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar, claimed people were “being put off going shopping” as Britain experienced its wettest spring since 1986 and one wettest ever recorded.
Wet days: Wet weather and falling inflation have caused supermarket takeaway sales to rise at their slowest pace in two years, new figures from Kantar show
Attendance is down slightly, with shoppers going to the supermarket on average 16.3 times per month, compared to 16.4 in June 2023.
The poor conditions affected demand for traditional summer products like sunscreen products, which Kantar said fell about 25 percent compared to the same month last year.
At the same time, Brits were buying products they wouldn’t have intended to buy in June, such as warming fresh soup, whose sales soared by almost a quarter.
However, Kantar found that the proportion of households describing their financial situation as “comfortable” reached 36 percent, its highest level in two and a half years.
This follows lower costs in almost a third of grocery categories, such as milk, butter and toilet paper.
Food inflation fell for the sixteenth consecutive month to 2.1 percent, its lowest point since October 2021, amid continued declines in energy and fertilizer prices.
Online giant: Ocado was the fastest growing grocer for the fourth month running, with the group’s online sales up 10.7 per cent in the 12 weeks to June 9.
While acknowledging that the cost of living crisis is not over, McKevitt said, “There are positive signs that many of us no longer feel the need to restrain our spending as much.”
Kantar believes the UEFA European Football Championship could strengthen grocery stores and pubs, depending on the success of England and Scotland at the tournament.
It noted that the proportion of sales of beer and lager on promotion had jumped by more than 40 per cent in the past four weeks.
“Retailers will be competing with fans who come out of the house to watch football as well as each other,” McKevitt said. “Pubs in particular could benefit from a boost whether or not football returns home.”
Pubs in particular could benefit from a boost whether or not football returns home.
Alongside the announcement, Kantar revealed that Ocado was the fastest growing grocer for the fourth month in a row, with the online giant’s sales increasing by 10.7 per cent in the 12 weeks to June 9 .
It also said Tesco, Britain’s largest supermarket, increased its market share by 0.6 percentage points to 27.7 percent, the best figure since February 2022, as its turnover increased by 4 .6 percent.
In contrast, Asda’s market share fell from 13.1 per cent in the previous 12 weeks to 12.8 per cent as the company faced strong competition in the discount retail sector.
Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: “Asda has traditionally positioned itself on the value side of the market, but it has become a crowded space.
It is losing out to German discounters Aldi and Lidl on one side and some big traditional players on the other side, notably Sainsbury’s and Marks & Spencer, both of which have a strong emphasis on the value side.
