According to research firm Kantar, seafood sales in UK grocery stores fell by 3.8% in the quarter to March 20, largely due to the impact of rising prices from inflation.
However, seafood retail sales are stronger than red meat and poultry, up 6.5% year-on-year in 2021.
Monthly food inflation rose to 9.5%, the highest since December 2011, according to new data released by Kantar. The war in Ukraine has intensified recent inflationary pressures, resulting in a 9.5% drop in food sales in the quarter to April 17.
“The average household is currently facing a potential cost increase of £271 [$341, €322] over the year,” said Fraser McKevitt, director of retail and consumer insights at Kantar. “The bulk of this increase is in everyday essentials that will be difficult to cut as budgets tighten. We are clearly seeing prices skyrocket and shoppers are being more careful with their money.”
The largest declines in purchases were in the seafood subcategories: breaded (down 15.1%), breaded (down 15.2%), smoked (down 12.6%), shellfish (down 11.3%) and natural (down 11.2%). Seasoned fish was the only item to see an increase in sales, up 4.3% year-over-year in 2021 and 14.4% year-over-year.
Cold seafood outperformed hot meat and poultry, which saw sales fall 13.1% year-over-year in the first quarter. The pace of protein inflation in the market for lamb, at 3.9%, outpaced that of beef, at 7.6%, according to Kantar.
Sales of red meat and poultry are falling as Britons are more likely to eat out in restaurants and return to work, reducing their reliance on home-cooked meals, Kantar said. The number of visits to grocery stores for poultry and meat was down 8.9% on a year ago, and basket sizes were down 7%.
“Sales were expected to be down compared to last year when restrictions were still in place. While the number of visits to stores has remained stable this year, people are not shopping as much as last year and the average basket size has fallen by 5.4%,” said McKewitt.
Online sales for stores were down almost 15% in the first quarter of the year.
“Online shopping has remained steady but is now less of a necessity. Consumer confidence in going out to shop has increased, with half a million fewer households making online purchases than last year,” added McKewitt.
The level of products bought through promotions fell 2.7% to 27.3% in Q1, as stores adopted a strategy of daily price cuts.
“Major retailers are understanding shoppers’ concerns; Asda has launched its ‘just the essentials’ line, Morrisons has announced price cuts on many everyday items and Tesco is offering customers savings through its club card strategy.”
Britons are shopping more than ever at discount stores, Kantar found. Aldi posted the fastest-growing retail sales in the three months to April 17, with sales value rising 2.4%. Lidl saw sales rise 4%.
“Over a million more customers visited Aldi and Lidl in the past 12 weeks than a year ago. Together, the two discounters have a market share of 15.4%, up from 5.5% a decade ago,” said McKewitt.
Tesco, which also offers discounts, was the only retailer to increase its market share in the first three months, up 0.3% to 27.3% of total grocery sales. Sainsbury’s has 15% of the market, followed by Asda on 14% and Morrisons on 5.9%.
The war in Ukraine has raised public awareness of supply pressures, McKewitt said. That’s why consumers are preparing for limited availability and higher prices by stocking up. For example, a number of stores recently imposed limits on the purchase of cooking oil, fearing that consumers will fill their cabinets with oil.
