Easing of inflation allowed shoppers to spend more on food before Christmas

EASING grocery inflation allowed shoppers to spend an average of £476 at the supermarket in December - up £15 on the year before, figures show.

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Grocery prices were 4.3% higher than a year earlier, down from November's 4.7%, offering modest relief to households, according to market research firm Worldpanel by Numerator, formerly Kantar.

The festive month saw a record £13.8 billion in take-home grocery sales - up 3.8% year on year with 92% of shoppers indulging in premium own-label products and sales of the lines exceeding £1 billion for the first time.

The highest spending was in fresh meat, reaching sales of £115 million, and £80 million in sales of chilled snacks such as finger food, dips, and antipasti.

However spending on promotions and deals also rose from 32% last year to 33.3% the highest proportion of overall sales since December 2019, before the onset of the pandemic.

Despite the typical price of seasonal chocolate tubs rising above £5 for the first time and average pack sizes shrinking by 5% to 551g, sales rose by 19% in the four weeks to Christmas as nearly one million more shoppers bought the treats.