Strong demand for Christmas beauty products drives Boots sales higher

It came as US parent firm Walgreens Boots Alliance saw its quarterly profit slide by more than 20 per cent, largely due to a sharp drop in volumes of Covid-19 vaccines and tests.

The group said its UK Boots operation, which it had planned to sell last year before a dramatic U-turn, has positively supported profit through higher retail sales, but also highlighted a knock-on effect from lower demand for coronavirus-related services.

Boots retail sales leapt by 16 per cent over the latest quarter compared with the same period last year.

The business said the eight quarters of consecutive growth were led by sales of beauty products, helping to drive a spike in transactions in the key Christmas period. Skincare recorded “three consecutive weeks of record sales” during December amid strong demand for brands such as No7, La Roche-Posay and CeraVe, it said.

It was buoyed by continued growth in shopper footfall, which increased by 16 per cent over the quarter. However, strong retail sales growth was partly offset by a smaller 2 per cent increase in its pharmacy business. Sebastian James, managing director of Boots UK & ROI, said: “More people are choosing to shop with Boots.”