Food and drink sales rise again for first time since lockdown peaks

By Éilis Cronin in Industry News 9th August 2021

Food and drink sales returned to year on year growth in July, after several months in which sales struggled to match last year’s peaks in the lockdown.

In the latest BRC-KPMG sales monitor food sales increased 0.8% on a like-for-like basis over the three months to July.

Susan Barratt, chief executive of the Institute of Grocery Distribution (IGD), said: “UK food and drink sales returned to growth in July, following several months where sales struggled to match the high peaks of sales generated post-Easter in 2020.

“As well as the Euro 2020 football tournament, the UK experienced two exceptional weeks of hot weather in July, providing ample opportunities for shoppers to celebrate with food and drink.”

But Barratt added that while sales were boosted there were still many challenges to overcome.

She said: “The UK’s K-shaped recovery persists; IGD’s ShopperVista insight reveals higher income groups believe they are more likely to be better off financially (23%) than worse off (20%) in the year ahead.

“In contrast, lower income groups are more likely to believe they will be worse off (23%) than better off (15%).

“Furthermore, shoppers are increasingly concerned about food and grocery price inflation, with 16% of shoppers expecting that prices will get much more expensive in the year ahead, up from just 8% of shoppers in April’21.”