Supermarkets in the United Kingdom - Statistics & Facts

Supermarket sales

Food store sales in the United Kingdom follow a fairly consistent pattern over the course of a year. Typically, sales in food stores and supermarkets peak during the Christmas trading period, see notable increases around Easter, and subside during the summer months.

Official figures from the United Kingdom showed that in 2020, sales of food stores grew by 5.1 percent compared to a year earlier. This was the biggest increase observed over the past nine years and was likely due to the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Compared to other retail sectors, food store sales remained relatively stable during the pandemic and did not experience the dramatic declines that other sectors did, such as department stores or household goods. Looking at Great Britain's leading supermarket chain Tesco, sales improved on a year-on-year basis by between 7.2 to around 15 percent in the months that followed the start of the pandemic. The same was true for other 'big four' chains, such as Asda, or discount supermarkets, such as Lidl.

Food shopping and consumers

In 2021, Statista's Global Consumer Survey found that 87 percent of UK consumers regularly shopped for food and everyday products from supermarkets. Another study revealed that one-third of consumers visited supermarkets 2-3 times a week for their food shopping. For more than half of UK consumers, Tesco was the primary supermarket destination. Tesco's popularity with UK consumers was not limited to in-store shopping. Around 44 percent of UK consumers said they ordered groceries from Tesco's online store. In addition to the online stores of traditional supermarket chains, UK consumers chose online grocery stores like Ocado or grocery delivery companies like Beelivery for their grocery, beverages, and meal kit orders.

This text provides general information. Statista assumes no liability for the information given being complete or correct. Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date data than referenced in the text.