Festive feel helps Waitrose to a 3.4% sales increase last week
Waitrose sales rose by 3.4% year-on-year last week as the retailer prepared to launch its Christmas TV advert and shoppers started stocking up for the festive season.
The retailer said many customers took advantage of special offers last week to stock up on items such as Christmas crackers and stollen, with sales rising by 14% and 40% respectively.
Meanwhile, Waitrose’s Christmas gifts range was up by 14% for the week compared to last year, with the most popular gift being a biscuit tin shaped like a retro radio.
There was also a 75% increase in sales of McVitie’s Penguin biscuits as customers were inspired by John Lewis’s Monty the penguin advert that made its debut in the week.
Never Miss a Retail Update!Waitrose said its own Christmas advert, which launched on 9 November and tells the story of a little girl being helped by a Waitrose Partner to make gingerbread for her school fayre, led to a surge in sales of key gingerbread baking ingredients with dried ginger sales increasing by 19%.
Commenting on the week’s sales, Waitrose supply chain director David Jones said: “There was a distinctly festive feel to sales last week – driven by a combination of the first frosty weather of the season and the launch of retailer Christmas ad campaigns. Despite trading against a period of strong promotional activity last year our total sales for the week were 3.4% higher.
“And we are seeing a huge response this year to our ‘create your own gift box’ – a £5 wooden crate to fill with hamper gift food. Sales are currently 10 times higher than this time last year, suggesting that personalised presents will be a big theme this season.”
