Supermarkets prepare for last minute Christmas blitz
festive retailing on record as shoppers delay buying food to final
days before Christmas.
Market research group, TNS Superpanel predicts that Britons will spend a record £3.3 billion (€4.6bn) on their groceries in the week leading up to Christmas day - 17 per cent more than last year when the national spend was £2.7bn.
The huge increase has been attributed to the fact there are six full shopping days in the week before Christmas.
TNS figures show that each additional shopping day during this week has led to an increase on the previous year's spending by 20 per cent.
However, TNS predict the record spending during the week before Christmas will mean lower spending during the weeks of 12 December and 26 December but the overall spending during the five weeks of Christmas is forecast to be the highest ever at £13.7bn, an increase of 11 per cent in the last five years.
Edward Garner, communications director at TNS Superpanel, said: "Whilst there is a limit to the total amount shoppers can spend on groceries in the Christmas period, we believe there will be a 'concertina' effect with many shoppers delaying their final main grocery shopping until the week of Christmas."
"This could have significant implications for the retailers and their suppliers. Christmas Eve in particular could see frenzied activity at the tills. Retailers will have to be very well prepared to avoid stocks running low and even car parks over flowing! Next year looks to be even more manic, with Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th as prime grocery shopping opportunities."
Tesco, the UK's leading supermarket, has continued to post double-digit growth in the run up to Christmas, says TNS, by registering a record 30.6 per cent market share.
A Tesco spokesperson told FoodandDrinkEurope.com "We are actually seeing an increase in 24 hour retailing and we predict more people will choose to shop around the clock."
