Retailers celebrate strong festive performance despite postal strikes affecting online sales

A number of major retailers have announced strong sales figures, particularly in physical stores, over the Christmas period.

Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Marks and Spencer have all revealed strong trading for groceries in the run-up to Christmas. Tesco, the UK’s largest retailer, shared that it saw sales up 7.2% in the six weeks to 7th January 2023 compared to same period last year. Marks and Spencer reported its food and drink sales were up 6.3% for Q4 of 2022 compared to 2021 figures, while Sainsbury’s has enjoyed a 7.1% jump in sales.

Sainsbury’s also revealed that it had seen an boost to footfall across it stores, with customers increasingly opting for click-and-collect for online shops, and choosing to make purchases in person, with online orders down 10%. Argos stores, part of the wider Sainsbury’s group, also saw more walk-in customers, particularly in the final week before Christmas, as shoppers sought to avoid the effects of postal strikes on last-minute present buying.

Gifts retailer, Card Factory, also this week shared that it had saw in-store sales rise 7% on December last year, despite a fall in online orders.

Retailer sales figures back up findings from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) that saw high street footfall in the five weeks to 31st December 2022 reach a new post-pandemic high.

Helen Dickinson OBE, Chief Executive of the British Retail Consortium, said:

“Footfall reached its highest level since the start of the pandemic in December. A combination of rail disruption and the cold snap kept many shoppers from visiting town centres and high streets in the last week before Christmas. Meanwhile, the postal strikes forced others to head in for the last week to secure last minute gifts in-store.

“Historically low consumer confidence and 30-year-high inflation made for an exceptionally difficult year for consumers and retailers, with footfall down over 10% on pre-pandemic levels. Nonetheless, this was still a significant improvement on the previous two years when the pandemic kept many people at home. Although retailers’ input costs show little sign of easing in 2023, they continue to do all they can to keep prices affordable and tempt customers in.”