;
COVID-19 SERVICE: We are heightening our efforts to assist the UK retail & leisure industry through this challenging period. Explore this service now… COVID-19 SERVICE

UK Food & Grocery Sector Report summary

June 2021

Period covered: Period covered: 02 May – 29 May 2021

Note: This report summary is one or two months behind the current month as standard reporting practice. The content is indicative only and incomplete with certain data undisclosed. Subscribe to access this data or take out a free 30 day subscription trial now.

Food sales growth fell by 00% year-on-year, against an 8.3% rise a year earlier.

Category growth was impacted by the reopening of indoor hospitality which meant that many consumers shifted more of their spending towards eating out rather than cooking from home.

This shift in spending towards leisure events displaced some spending on retail products. Retail Economics research showed that, as a direct impact of hospitality reopening, 00% of consumers said they spent less on retail items in May.

Data from Nielsen suggested that in the week ending 22 May (the first week that indoor hospitality reopened) grocery sales declined by 6.7% compared with the previous year. During the 4 weeks to 22 May (Nielsen’s reporting period), sales fell by 2.7% implying the reopening of restaurants had a significant and sudden impact.

In terms of the online performance, online grocery sales growth also disappointed, falling by 00%.

This was the first decline in online sales since December 2019. Albeit, sales were still more than double 2019’s levels, with online accounting for 00% of total food sales.

Data from Kantar showed that 58 million more visits to supermarkets were made in May compared with a year earlier. London is said to be driving the rise with shopping trips up by a quarter.

Online food sales growth fell into negative territory in May, falling by 6.8% year-on-year, against tough comparisons a year ago when sales growth rose by 126.9%.

Retail Economics forecasts Food & Grocery sales to drop by 00% year-on-year in 2021

Asda and the Co-op have partnered with Unilever on a new refillable packaging trial. Shoppers will be able to pick up pre-filled stainless-steel bottles from the shelf and return it once used, or refill the bottles using standalone refill stations.

Take out a free 30 day trial subscription to Read the full report >

 

Online Food – spend vs. growth

Source: ONS

Need insights from our latest report?

UK Food & Grocery Sector Report: March 2024

Access this report with a FREE 30 day subscription trial!

  • Grocery Market Share - top 10 UK Food retailers
  • Food & Grocery Market Size estimates (£m)
  • Sales Growth by category
  • Total Food Spending by category (£m)
  • Online Grocery Sales (y-o-y)
  • Forecasts for 2021 - 2025
  • Footfall by channel and region
  • Regional Weather data and more…