Discount supermarket giants Aldi and Lidl enjoyed record Christmas trading, with sales up 8% and 12%.
Aldi said that its sales for the four weeks to Christmas Eve exceeded £1.5billion for the first time and that Friday December 22 was its busiest trading day ever, with 2.5million people customers shopping at its stores.
Lidl also said that December 22 was its busiest day. It added that 4.5million more people shopped at its stores last month than in December 2022. Its 12% sales growth was driven by demand for its Deluxe premium range.
According to data from market research group Kantar, the two German-owned retailers are the UK’s fastest-growing supermarkets.
Giles Hurley, Aldi UK and Ireland chief executive, insisted the discounter will cut prices further this year.
He said: “We were able to help customers enjoy the Christmas they deserve and provide them with high quality products at the most affordable prices.
“As we look ahead to 2024, our promise to customers is that they will always make significant savings on every shop.”
Ryan McDonnell, Lidl GB chief executive, said: “We remain relentlessly focussed on continuing to do what we do best, which is offering the highest quality on the market for unbeatable value.”
Food price inflation in December slowed from 7.7% to 6.7%, the eighth consecutive month that prices fell, according to the British Retail Consortium and market research group NiQ.
However Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the BRC, warned that prices at the tills could rise due to new border checks on imports from the European Union and retailers having to pay increased business rates bills from April.
She said: “Retailers will continue to do all they can to keep prices down in 2024, but there are obstacles ahead.”
