UK grocery sales recorded a £218m coronation bounce as inflation inches down, says Kantar

Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar, said: “: “Grocery sales soared by 16 per cent during the week of the coronation, adding up to an extra £218m passing through the tills. Shoppers filled up their glasses, with sparkling and still wine especially popular. Sales of these products climbed by 129 per cent and 33 per cent respectively, driven by demand not price rises with wine inflation only at 1 per cent.”

“Lots of people seem to have got into the spirit of the royal occasion, grabbing their chance to have a go at the official coronation recipe. Sales of ingredients like chilled pastry surged by 89 per cent, while fresh cream sales jumped by 80 per cent and frozen broad beans by 57 per cent. We'll have to wait and see whether it becomes as much loved as its 1953 counterpart Coronation Chicken and cements its place on the British picnic and garden party menu.”

Grocery price inflation fell for the second month in a row to 17.2 per cent for the four weeks to May 14 2023, but this is still the third fastest rate analysts at Kantar have recorded since 2008. Take-home grocery sales rose by 10.8 per cent over the month in comparison with the same period last year, Kantar said.

Mr McKevitt said: “The drop in grocery price inflation, which is down by 0.1 percentage points on last month’s figure, is without doubt welcome news for shoppers but it is still incredibly high – 17.2 per cent is the third fastest rate of grocery inflation we’ve seen since 2008.

"This could add an extra £833 to the average household’s annual grocery bill if consumers don’t shop in different ways. Of course, shoppers are savvy and they’re skirting higher prices by choosing more own-label goods. These lines grew by 15.2 per cent this month, almost double that of branded products which rose by 8.3 per cent. However, the gap between own lines and brands is narrowing in most stores, helped in some cases by loyalty discounts."

Asda grew by 10.6 per cent and its market share now stands at 13.9 per cent, a rise of 0.1 percentage points when compared to the same 12 weeks last year. Sales were boosted by its Just Essentials range. Morrisons took an 8.7 per cent share this period, Kantar said. Mr McKevitt added: “Morrisons marked its third consecutive period of sales growth this month, although the increase was more muted versus others at 0.6 per cent. The grocer will be hoping the relaunch of its ‘More Reasons to Shop’ strapline will help it to keep up the positive momentum.”