E-commerce was the fastest growing channel for grocery spending over Christmas, according to data from NielsenIQ (NIQ) revealing that 29% of UK households shopped for groceries online in the four weeks to 27 December. This marked a 9.9% growth in the channel, meaning e-commerce held a share of 13.5% of sales compared to 12.6% the year prior.
Ecommerce was the fastest growing channel for grocery spending over Christmas, according to data from NielsenIQ (NIQ).
Some 29% of UK households shopped for groceries online in the four weeks to 27 December, up 9.9% on last year. As a result, ecommerce held a share of 13.5% of festive grocery sales, versus 12.6% in 2024.
In total, shoppers spent £19.6bn over the four week period – up 2.5% on last year – with total till sales at supermarkets growing by 3%, despite unit sales declining by 0.2%.
Grocers benefitted from an extra trading day in the Christmas week, although grocery sales peaked in the week ending 20 December when shoppers spent £5.3bn. According to NIQ, UK shoppers were more considered in their spending in 2025, shopping 1.4% more often and spending 1.1% more each time they shopped – an increase from last year’s £22.24 average.
Online retailer Ocado saw the biggest gains, becoming the fastest growing retailer for the second consecutive Christmas, as sales rose 12.8%. Lidl was the fastest growing store-based retailer, with sales up 9.4%.
Sainsbury’s experienced growth of 5.7%, while sales at Waitrose rose 5.5%, both aided by new shoppers and more visits. According to the NIQ data, sales rose 3.7% at Tesco, which continued to claim the largest market share of the grocers according to analysis published yesterday (6 January) by Worldpanel by Numerator.
M&S notched up 4% growth, while Morrisons enjoyed its best trading in six months generating a 3.1% sales uptick, compared to falling sales in December last year.
The picture was less rosy at Asda, which saw sales fall 6.5% in December. According to Worldpanel, Asda also experienced the biggest decline in market share of the grocers, falling to 11.4% from 12.4% the year prior.
Head of retailer and business insight at NielsenIQ, Mike Watkins, claims retailers with “sales momentum” at the start of the quarter were able to extend this through to the end of December.
“Considering the external mood, music and the continued pressure on household finances, it was a Christmas of cautious celebration and a good four weeks for most food retailers,” he says.
Fresh food success
Some 32% of ecommerce sales in December were in fresh foods, making it the biggest “super category” – up 9.9%. Within ecommerce, health and beauty also grew at by 14.9% and impulse sales rose 11.1%.
The NIQ analysis found premium private label value sales grew 5.6% over the festive period, accounting for 28% of all private labels sales in December. Promotional spend also increased to 27% of sales.
Similarly, Worldpanel found sales of supermarket premium own brand ranges exceeded the £1bn milestone for the first time in December 2025, appearing in 92% of UK shopping baskets. Elsewhere, the data showed spend on promotions and deals made up 33.3% of festive sales.
Fresh foods grew as a category by 4.9%, alongside impulse purchases, including soft drinks and snacks, which grew by 5.7%, according to NIQ. Frozen food sales rose 1.2%, while sales of beer, wine and spirits declined by 0.1%.
Both Aldi and Lidl saw growth in fresh food sales over the Christmas period, particularly fruit and vegetables. More than 110,000 tonnes of seasonal veg were bought from Lidl in the week leading up to Christmas Eve.
Aldi similarly saw demand for home-grown produce. Shoppers bought 56 million potatoes, 37 million carrots and half a million turkeys supplied from British companies. Both discounters exceeded £1bn in festive turnover in 2025.