Waitrose customers stock up on festive fare

The festive season delivered strong sales growth for Waitrose last week (to December 10), according to the supermarket chain’s retail director Ben Stimson.

He said that although divisional sales (excluding fuel) were 0.2% lower compared with the same week last year, the comparison is distorted because the same week last year was closer to Christmas.

Ben added that last week’s colder temperatures “certainly inspired customers to turn to more heart-warming dinners, as we saw sales of our slow cooked meat range increase significantly – up 54%.”

Seasonal meat orders were up 107%, including turkey orders which were up nearly 10%.

Accompaniments were up too. Vegetable sales increased by 14% and sprouts and organic vegetables were up 12%.

Waitrose also saw record outdoor horticulture sales on Saturday as Christmas tree sales climbed 9% on last year. Festive flowers and bulbs sales were up 23% and 15% respectively.

Elsewhere, party food orders were up 7% and sales of delicatessen Christmas hams and pâtés were both up by 4%.

Waitrose Golden Butter Turkey with Rosemary Skewered Turkey Stuffing