A report from global market research firm NielsenIQ (NIQ) has found that during February, fish, meat and poultry was the fastest growing category, while dine-at-home meal options were favoured by consumers.
NIQ data also revealed “notable” growth in dine-at-home meal options, with shoppers spending £137 million on fresh ready meals (+2.9%).
Over the four weeks, meat, fish and poultry was the fastest growing category (+8.5%) followed by dairy (+6.4%) and produce (+5.7%) as fresh foods were favoured over packaged grocery (+2.4%) and frozen food growth was weaker (+0.7% and -0.6% units).
In terms of retailer performance, over the past 12 weeks, Tesco led the growth of the nation’s big four supermarkets (+5.5%), with Sainsbury’s (+4.7%) close behind. Waitrose’s growth improved (+3.8%) with an increase in shoppers compared to a year ago.
Dine-in for two for £25 helped drive M&S sales (+10.8%) this Valentine’s Day as almost one in four shoppers visited M&S in the last four weeks. This lifted market share to 4.2%. Aldi continued to improve sales (+4.7%) with Lidl (+8.4%) and Ocado remaining the fastest growing retailers (+16.1%).
Grocers saw growth ahead of Valentine’s Day
Total till sales slowed to 4% at UK supermarkets in the four weeks ending 22nd February 2025, down from 5.3% recorded in January.
NIQ data also showed that grocery multiples saw their strongest growth leading up to Valentine’s Day in the week ending 15th February driven by increased shopper visits. Visits were up by 5.9% as 17% of households looked to celebrate and make purchases.
Promotional spend contributed 24% of sales, which NIQ said was supported by continued investment in price cuts and dine-in offers. NIQ found shoppers taking advantage of promotions with Valentine’s food seeing value growth of 5.1% and units growing at 0.6% driven by cakes and morning goods.
“Many shoppers will seek out more discounts when shopping, in particular from supermarket loyalty schemes.”
Mike Watkins, head of retailer and business insight at NIQ, stated: “Retailers capitalised on the opportunities around Valentine’s Day as shoppers wanted to create a special occasion at home. With the pinch of the cost of living, many shoppers dined in to save money this year, with premium food options growing and themed meals and gifts very much in vogue for treating loved ones.
“There are three things to consider looking ahead. Firstly, the GfK Consumer Confidence Index for February suggested that people don’t expect the economy to show any dramatic signs of improvement and with many household bills, such as energy, water and council tax, increasing over the next few weeks, shoppers will be looking carefully at their discretionary spend.
“Secondly, the recent sales trends in Hospitality from CGA show some weakness. Finally, the increase in food inflation reported by BRC NIQ this week looks to be a turning point. The overall impact will be that many shoppers will need to seek out more discounts when shopping, in particular from supermarket loyalty schemes – maybe switching some food and drink away from out-of-home to supermarkets.”
