Nearly three-quarters of Irish shoppers will leave their main Christmas shop for groceries until this week, with nearly one in four leaving it as late as Friday or the weekend, according to research by Nielsen.
This coming Friday 22 is set to be the biggest grocery shopping day of the year, adds Nielsen’s report, with one in five (19%) doing their main Christmas grocery shop that day.
Spending Less
Nielsen’s research found that, despite this week set to be a ‘bumper week’ for grocery retailers, many shoppers say they will spend less on Christmas groceries this year.
As many as 15% of shoppers say they’ll spend a lot less than last year, while only 2% say they’ll spend a lot more. Meanwhile, 20% report spending a bit less, compared to 15% who’ll spend a bit more.
“It’s not surprising that people are saying they’ll cut back, nearly two-thirds of shoppers worry about money at Christmas, while four in ten say having enough money is their biggest concern over Christmas,” said Matt Clark, Nielsen’s commercial director in Ireland.
“Consequently, shoppers will be employing various tactics to save money on the Christmas grocery bill.”
Money Saving Tactics
Consumers are set to use a number of strategies to spend less this Christmas. For example,
35% will use loyalty card vouchers or points they’ve saved up, while 25% will cherry-pick products from different supermarkets depending on prices.
30% say they will employ similar tactics in a discounter, and 15% say they’ll do their main Christmas grocery shop at a discounter.
Finally, 15% plan to go to Northern Ireland for their shop, particularly for alcohol.
Clark comments that because of the late shopping and cost-cutting trend, it’s “imperative for brand owners to remain focused on maximising the sales opportunity in this final week.”
To achieve the “highest possible return, products need to be available at maximum distribution from Wednesday to Saturday.”
Driving Sales
However, even though consumers are cutting costs, Clark says there is still an impoprtabt sales opportunity for driving sales, as the number of un-planned purchases is high this time of year.
According to Nielsen’s research, 70% of shoppers say they’ll buy something they wouldn’t normally buy if it is on promotion, while 54% say they’re more impulsive when doing the Christmas grocery shop, buying things they wouldn’t normally buy. .
The early signs are that it’s going to be a good Christmas for the alcohol and confectionary sectors, which saw consumer spend increase 4.2% and 4.0%, respectively, year-on-year to the 3rd December 2017.
© 2017 - Checkout Magazine by Jenny Whelan
