Spirits prop up supermarket sales over Christmas

Spending was up on beer, wine and spirits in UK supermarkets over the Christmas period, helping retailers slow widespread declines.

According to IRI data, New Year sales on BWS in supermarkets increased 3% in 2015, gaining an extra £60m compared to the same period in 2014.

These products outstripped total food sales over the festive fortnight – with year-on-year growth of 11.5% (to £515.3m) in the week ending 26 December versus 8.8% for total food, and 3% (to £251.1m) in the week ending 2 January against a decline of -3.7% for total food.

Overall, grocery sales fell 0.6% in the full six-week trading period. However, IRI analysts claim this performance was “stronger than expected” given the growth of discounters in the last year.

Tim Eales, IRI’s strategic insight director, attributes the success of the BWS to the growth of at-home drinking.

“The major multiples did hold their own to a large extent over the festive period, helped by a strong performance from the Bbeers, wines and spirits categories,” he said.

“Long-term, the market for alcohol has been falling in the UK, but supermarket sales have risen slightly across 2015 to £12.1bn (+1%), and grew in the final week of the year when most other FMCG categories declined.

“People are changing where they shop for beer, wine and spirits, buying more from supermarkets and drinking less out of home. This is one area where supermarkets may not lose so much to the discounters – when buying alcohol for a special occasion or a gift, people want a brand name on the bottle.”

Shoppers spent £20m more on spirits in the two weeks to 2 January than they did in 2014. Sales reached £164m in Christmas week and £70m in New Year week, with total weekly spend during the fortnight almost three times greater than the average for the rest of the year.

Total FMCG sales (including non-food) across 2015 as a whole in UK supermarkets fell 0.9% to £114.1bn, compared with £115.2bn in 2014.