Supermarkets enjoy multibillion Jubilee boost
The supermarkets enjoyed a 12.5% sales boost last week as customers bought drinks and snack foods to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, according to Nielsen data.
In the lead up to the Jubilee weekend retailers and brands ramped up marketing activity to take advantage of the sales opportunity.
Tesco and Sainsbury’s have both noted the positive impact on sales from Jubilee celebrations in financial updates this week, with Tesco reporting more than £1bn sales in the week leading up to it.
The massive increase in the week ending 2 June helped build on the momentum of the start of the Olympic Torch Relay on 19 May and several weeks of warm weather that boosted sales in the week ending 26 May by 5.6%, according to Nielsen data.
However, the effects of the cold weather in earlier in May meant that trading over the four week period remained in line with recent trends.
Sales value in the month to 26 May increased 3.3% while sales volumes fell 0.9%.
The strongest growth was in crisps and snacks (+10%), confectionery (+9%), soft drinks (+7%) and beer, wines and spirits (+7%).
Nielsen senior manager for retailer services Mike Watkins, says: “Overall, May was a month of better momentum across food retailing, with the major supermarkets issuing a deluge of cash savings and discounts, actively encouraging shoppers to visit and spend. This has been a familiar pattern over the last six months. Promotional spend remains at 35% of overall basket sales at the grocery multiples and we anticipate a continuation of these trends for the next three months.”
Tesco’s market share slipped to 28.8% in the three months to 26 May from 29.2% the year before. Asda now holds a 16.3% share, up from 15.7% a year ago, while Sainsbury’s share has remained flat at 15.9%.
