Over £10.9bn was spent in-store and online on groceries in November, making in the biggest month ever for the UK grocery market.
According to Kantar, grocery sales rose by 11.3% in the 12 weeks to 29 November as cafes, bars and restaurants were closed and people stayed at home.
“Take-home grocery sales rose by 11.3% during the 12 weeks to 29 November 2020, the fastest rate of growth since August. Take-home sales during the past four weeks increased by 13.9%, as eating and drinking out of home was restricted by the English national lockdown,” said the market researcher.
Alcohol spending surged by 33%, sales of festive lights were up by 238%, and turkey sales grew by 36%.
Fraser McKevitt, the head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar, said:
“The three days before non-essential retail and hospitality closed on 5 November were especially busy, with grocery sales that week up by 17%. November as a whole saw shopper frequency hit its highest level since the beginning of the pandemic, suggesting more confidence among people going into stores.
“Those factors contributed to November being the single largest month ever for the supermarkets, with £10.9bn spent over four weeks. December’s numbers are likely to surpass that again, and we expect spend to be close to £12 billion in the month ahead, around £1.5bn more than last year.”
Morrisons shares were up 1.5%, Sainsbury’s shares were up by 0.9% and Tesco up 0.4% (0910GMT).