Kantar predicts Jubilee celebrations to boost BBQ product sales
Despite rising inflation levels, research company Kantar believes that the British public is looking ahead to the Platinum Jubilee at the beginning of June, with sales of barbeque products expected to see growth.
Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar, said: “With a four-day bank holiday weekend on the horizon, we’re expecting people to celebrate with friends and family.
“Looking back at the Diamond Jubilee in 2012, we saw a 10% boost in supermarket sales during the week leading up to the festivities. We should never underestimate the appetite for a party, especially a royal one.”
He added “Just like ten years ago, we’d expect barbeques to be fired up across the country and drive demand for anything that goes on the grill. In classic Jubilee style, indulgent desserts, whether bought ready to eat from the shops or made from scratch, are also expected to prove popular this year.”
However, McKevitt warned that the rise in grocery inflation would have an impact on sales over the coming weeks: “While we’re all keen to celebrate in style, shoppers will be carefully considering any unnecessary expense and prices are significantly different from the last Jubilee. For example, in 2012 the average amount spent on a bottle of sparkling wine was £5.20 whereas now it’s £7.05.”
Rising grocery inflation
Supermarket sales fell by 4.4% during the 12 weeks to 15th May 2022. Like-for-like grocery prices have risen by 7% over the past four weeks compared with the same time last year. Kantar said that grocery inflation is now at its highest level since May 2009.
According to the most recent Kantar Pressure Groups survey, 43% of households described themselves as ‘managing’ while 22% said they were ‘struggling’. Within the growing group of shoppers struggling to make ends meet, the rising price of groceries is of concern to over nine in 10 people, making it the second most important issue behind the spiralling cost of energy bills.
Market share breakdown
Lidl is the fastest growing retailer this data period. The grocer’s sales increased by 6% in the 12 weeks to 15th May, marginally ahead of Aldi which increased sales by 5.8%.
Tesco performed ahead of the wider market increasing its share by 0.4 percentage points to 27.4%. This is the seventeenth month in a row Britain’s largest supermarket has gained share, its longest period of improvement since 2007. Sainsbury’s, the second largest grocer, sits at 14.8%.
Morrisons holds 9.5% of the market, with Co-op on 6.1% and Waitrose on 4.9%. Online specialist Ocado’s grocery sales are 6.1% higher than two years ago and it holds 1.7% of the market.
Meanwhile Asda, which has reintroduced its discounts for NHS and emergency workers, accounts for 13.8% of the total market. Iceland’s share remained steady at 2.3%, with the 5.2 million over 60s that shop with the grocer every year soon to be eligible for the retailer’s new age-specific Tuesday discount.
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