UK Food & Grocery Sector Report summary
May 2021
Period covered: Period covered: 04 April – 01 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. Become a member to access this data or take out a free 30 day trial now.
Food sales growth rose by 00% in April, year-on-year. Resultantly, growth slipped below the 12-month averages.
The category continues to be supported by the online channel, with sales growth rising by 00% year-on-year against a 85.7% rise a year ago. Last April, retailers were increasing their online capacity at a staggering pace as sales shifted online. Tesco for instance were able to offer one million online delivery slots a week during April 2020, boosting their online capacity by 103% in a matter of weeks.
Kantar suggested that shopping trips rose by 4% in April on the previous month, with older shoppers accounting for nearly half of this rise in footfall.
Retail Economics research found that nearly 00 (00%) of British shoppers expect to do most of their grocery shopping in-store rather than online after the pandemic. For many households, online grocery adoption may be temporary in nature.
Sales growth was also impacted by the reopening of non-essential retail with sales of non-essential items moving away from supermarkets.
Analysis from the ONS suggested that all commodity types sold in supermarkets recorded a fall in their sales compared with March (clothing reporting the largest fall).
Retail Economics forecasts Online Food & Grocery sales to decline by 00% year-on-year in 2021. However, the online penetration rate is projected to remain much higher than pre-pandemic levels.
The Co-op is set to invest £1.7m to reduce prices of 29 fresh, chilled, and ambient vegan products, in a bid to give customers cheaper ‘flexitarian’ choices.
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Commodities sold in supermarkets in April fall on previous levels
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Source: ONS (value, non-seasonally adjusted, month-on-month)
