Torrential downpours and storms are driving up the cost of Christmas dinner this year amid a washout on the nation’s farms.
The cost of turkey and all the trimmings is up by 6.5 percent to an average of £32.57, according to research by retail experts at Kantar.
The increase is ahead of the wider 2.6 percent price rise across supermarket aisles.
The Kantar figures show particularly steep rises for winter veg. For example, potatoes are up 16.2 percent, while parsnips are up by 12.7 percent and cauliflowers by 14.6 percent.
There was some good news for lovers of sprouts, where there has been a modest increase of just 1.1 percent.
Kantar put the average price of a frozen turkey at £14.09, which represents a rise of 8.5 percent, while fresh birds will be much more expensive.
Its research puts the average price of a Christmas pudding at £3.32, which is up 4.4 percent on a year ago. And its figures suggest that 8 percent of us have already bought one.
Kantar said: “As people count down to Christmas, supermarket sales are forecast to exceed £13 billion over the four weeks of December for the first time ever.”
And it is predicting that Monday, December 23, is set to be the single busiest day for supermarkets this year.
Its figures suggest that Tesco is likely to be the biggest beneficiary of festive spending. It achieved a market share of 28.1 percent over the past four weeks, which is the highest level since December 2017.
Kantar said: “The cost of an average Christmas dinner for four has risen to £32.57, up by 6.5 percent, largely driven by the price of turkey and Christmas vegetable staples.
“Wider grocery price inflation remains relatively stable at 2.6 percent, with grocers prioritising low pricing over multibuys.”
Head of retail and consumer insight at the firm, Fraser McKevitt, said: “Sales on promotion reached 30percent in November, the highest since Christmas last year.
“It’s retailer price cuts, often accessed through loyalty cards, that are really driving this. While multibuy promotions have stayed flat, spending on price cut offers has grown by 14 percent, worth £355 million more than last year.
“Shoppers are grabbing the chance to spend that little bit more than usual on Christmas specials, and champagne, wine and spirits saw the biggest levels of buying on deal.”
Mr McKevitt said there are clear signs that shoppers are already stocking up their cupboards.
“Sales of assorted sweet biscuits and biscuits for cheese both doubled in November compared with the month before, while 8 percent of us bought a Christmas pudding,” he said.
“Many of us take the chance to treat ourselves at this time of year and retailers are rolling out seasonal product lines to help us celebrate in style.
“The proportion of spending on premium own-label products reached 5 percent over the latest four weeks and we expect it to climb even higher in December to nearly 7 percent.”
Sainsbury’s share supermarket sales has increased by 0.3 percentage points to 15.9 percent, and spending through its tills is running 4.7 percent higher than last year. The means the UK’s two biggest grocers now have a combined market share of 44 percent.
Marks & Spencer is expected to see a bumper festive season on the back of a customer, sales and profit surge.
Mr McKevitt said: “Just under one in three households, at 32 percent, bought food, drink and other groceries to have at home from M&S during the 12 weeks to 1 December and looking at grocery sales alone, spending at M&S rose by 10.4 percent.”
Online retailer Ocado, which has a partnership with M&S, boosted sales by 8.7 percent over the period. It outpaced the total online market which grew by 3.6 percent, with shoppers spending £4.2 billion on the channel overall across the 12 weeks.
Lidl was the fastest growing bricks-and-mortar grocer, with sales up by 6.6 percent. Its share climbed 0.3 percentage points to 7.7 percent. The retailer’s footfall stepped up by nearly 10 percent in comparison with a year ago.
Asda has a 12.3 percent market share following a fall in takings of 5.6 percent, while the figure at Morrisons rose by 2 percent to give it an 8.6 percent share.
Waitrose grew slightly ahead of the market, with spending increasing by 2.6 percent.
Spending at Aldi grew by 2.1 percent, and the retailer retained 10.3 percent of the market. Iceland also held its share of 2.2 percent, and Co-op’s portion of the market is now 5.5 percent
