Waitrose Christmas sales gather momentum
Waitrose increased its sales by 4.9% year-on-year last week as customers began stocking up on Christmas meats. Online sales at Waitrose.com also performed well with sales rising by 34%.
The supermarket said its Christmas meat and accompaniment orders were up 16% compared to the time last year with customers ordering turkey and other seasonal meats in good time for the big day.
While turkey crown sales were up 14% in the week, pre-packed beef sales rose by 9% with orders climbing by 49%. Top beef sellers included bone in shin, sales of which increased by 233%.
In a survey of its customers, Waitrose found that beef was the most popular alternative to turkey, with 23% of Waitrose shoppers saying they would try beef for a change this Christmas.
Never Miss a Retail Update!Seasonal meats, such as gammons and hams also traded strongly, with orders up by 133%.
Also heralding the start of the festive season was the arrival of Christmas trees in 180 Waitrose branches during the week. This is the first year that Waitrose is selling Christmas trees, after it expanded into plants and gardening earlier this year. The supermarket said that sales are already well above expectations.
Waitrose said the pot grown Nordman Fir Christmas Trees or ‘ecotrees’ are sustainable, which means they can survive the festive season and then be grown in pots or the ground after Christmas, and used again. All of the trees are sourced from the Black Isle, north of Inverness in Scotland.
