Olympics anticipation boosts supermarket sales
Figures released by Nielsen have shown that a brief spell of warm weather and the run-up to the Olympic Games provided a welcome boost to grocery retailers at the end of July, following a subdued performance during the rest of the month.
Aggregate sales growth for the UK’s leading supermarkets across the four weeks ending 21 July was just +1.8% while unit sales declined by -0.2% compared to the same period a year ago according to the latest UK retailer performance figures released by global information and insights company.
However, aggregate sales growth in the last week of the reporting period, the week ending 21 July, improved by 2.3% year-on-year. Furthermore, the week ending 28 July saw growth of 4.1% year-on-year due to the warm weather and lead up to the London 2012 Olympics.
July also saw the continued slowing of food inflation – down to +3.1% from +3.5% in June – while the discounters continued to gain market share. Nielsen said that competition has intensified among the Big Four supermarkets over the last 12 weeks, with vouchers and coupons now being used by nearly all supermarkets.
Explaining the figures, Nielsen senior manager for retailer services Mike Watkins said: “The cold and wet weather in early July, combined with the absence of a mid-July major event, resulted in weaker sales growths. This was compounded by shoppers remaining fickle and chasing bargains – shopping tactically to benefit from retailer giveaways. However, with sales growths improving in the last two weeks of July, due to the warmer weather and the start of the London 2012 Olympics, it’s hoped that the much-awaited turning point of the year has finally been reached.”
Regarding individual grocery retailers, Watkins added: “The last four weeks have seen Asda’s previously-impressive growth slowing to +3.2%, as the first anniversary marking the conversion of most of its acquired Netto stores to Asda approaches. Meanwhile, Tesco’s sales growths improved to +3.7% on the back of initiatives that included ‘Spend £50; get 5p off a litre of fuel’, which helped attract more shoppers in-store.”
