Sales at Aldi soared over Christmas as cash-strapped consumers flocked to the discount chain for their festive shop.
The German supermarket posted its best ever December with sales in the month topping £1.4billion for the first time.
The 26 per cent boost came as families facing sky-high inflation looked for bargains, while the winter World Cup further bolstered what is usually a busy time at the tills.
Festive cheer: Aldi posted its best ever December with sales in the month topping £1.4bn for the first time
Aldi UK chief Giles Hurley said it was all about ‘family and football’ with customers buying more than 48m mince pies, 38m pigs in blankets and more than 1,700 tonnes of sprouts in the weeks leading up to Christmas Day.
Fresh meats and cheeses were also up 28 per cent and 50 per cent respectively.
Hurley added: ‘As the UK’s cheapest supermarket, we were able to help shoppers enjoy the Christmas they deserved.’
Victoria Scholar, an analyst at investment firm Interactive Investor, said customers looked for cheaper alternatives this Christmas, which benefitted Aldi and Lidl at the expense of Waitrose, Ocado and Morrisons.
Aldi ended the year with more than 990 stores in the UK, up from 950 in 2021.
Lidl GB chief Ryan McDonnell said it was serving 770,000 more customers a week in 2022 than the year before.
Morrisons has seen its sales slump after it was bought in 2021 by US private equity firm Clayton Dubilier & Rice in a £7billion deal.
In September, Aldi replaced Morrisons in the Big Four where Asda, Sainsbury’s and Tesco lead the way.
But while shoppers flocked to the German discounters over Christmas, analysts suggested wealthier shoppers less inclined to compromise on quality were likely to have boosted more expensive rivals such as Marks & Spencer.
AJ Bell analyst Danni Hewson said M&S was bound to ‘keep the sparkle’ with customers still keen to splurge on luxury items as a treat.
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