British shoppers spent £85 million (€94 million) more in the last four weeks than in the same period last year, with sales volumes of own-brand products rising above those of manufacturer-branded products, Nielsen said.
According to the research firm, shoppers bought more private label frozen products (+7%), canned and packaged goods (+6%), and bakery products (+5%) in the last four weeks, which Nielsen attributed to increased caution around spending and a shift in promotional priorities.
“ We are starting to see purchasing behavior return to normal with an increase in the purchase of own-brand products due to lower prices, whereas last year shoppers bought more manufacturer-branded products thanks to heavy promotions linked to the big summer event of 2018 ,” commented Mike Watkins, head of retailer and business insight at Nielsen UK.
During the four-week period, total supermarket sales in the UK increased by 1%, following a disappointing spring and early summer – sales fell 0,5% in July, Nielsen said.
This compares to last year, when grocery sales increased by 4,2% during the same period.
“ It is promising to see that the food market has begun to recover from the low growth that has been a consistent theme since Easter. These trends have been largely overshadowed by the weather and current value growth is not yet aligned with inflation, which the most recent Consumer Price Index put at 2,1% ,” Watkins added.
