Average cost Christmas dinner rises 6.5% a year, driven by hefty price rises in potatoes, cabbage, carrots and parsnips.
UK shoppers are paying £32.57 for four for festive meals, according to Kantar retail analysts, driven by a 16.3% jump in annual prices and a nearly 15% rise in the cost of carrots.
Everything in the meal rose in price except for sparkling wine, which remained at the same level as last year with the most expensive item, Turkey, up to 8.5%. The overall cost of Christmas dinners rose at nearly three times the pace of inflation at the grocery store.
Grocery prices rose 2.6% in the four weeks to December 1, from 2.3% a month earlier, according to Kantar. Prices have risen rapidly on household necessities such as toothbrushes and cold drinks, while on consumer goods such as dog food and toilet rolls.
Spending on groceries at home rose just 2.5% in the 12 weeks to 1 December – just behind inflation in the last month of that period – suggesting shoppers are still wary of sending more baskets and looking for ways to save.
Sales of discounted items accounted for 30% of the entire month of November, the highest level since last Christmas, driven by the use of the loyalty scheme’s price cut.
Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and outlook at Kantars, said: “Shoppers are seizing the opportunity to spend a little more than usual on Christmas gifts, and champagne, wine and spirits have seen huge levels of bargain shopping.”
But many families may find that the overall cost of the holiday may not be as expensive as data indicated as most supermarkets offered hefty discounts in the last week before Christmas.
Despite cost inflation, the Aldi chain announced on Monday that it would be offering bags of vegetables, including potatoes, for 15p and more other markets are expected to follow suit.
They criticized the increase in the price of the Christmas vegetable war, warning that they are “I’m in csch”.
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Meanwhile, Kantar said grocery sales at food retailer Mark & Spencer rose 10.4% in the 12 weeks to 1 December, well ahead of the rest of the market, led by Lidl, where sales rose 6.6%.
Kantar said almost a third of households bought at least some groceries to eat at home from M&S at the time.
On the other hand, Asda’s struggling market continues to lose market share, as its sales plunged 5.6% – the only one of the top seven grocers to book a decline. Tesco’s sales rose 5.2% taking its market share to 28.1% – the highest level since December 2017.