Lidl GB achieved a record Christmas in 2020 with overall sales increasing 17.9% in the same 4-week period to 27 December versus the prior year, meaning it was the fastest growing retailer versus the Big 4 supermarkets and main competitors.
With Christmas favourites driving customer spend, basket size increased by 24.8% YoY and British households switched £34.7m of spend from all supermarkets, choosing Lidl to supply their festive favourites[4]. The impressive growth figures were supported by enticing incentives found via the retailer’s Lidl Plus rewards app.
Festive favourites proved to be incredibly popular this year with over 2.7 million servings of panettone over the Christmas period[5]. Lidl’s much-loved classics also went down a treat, with 7,000 glasses of mulled wine and almost 17,000 classic Deluxe Luxury Mince Pies being sold hourly[6]. In fact, Lidl’s Deluxe range, known for its high-quality at unbeatable value, saw sales up 22% in the period YoY.
Christian Härtnagel, Lidl GB CEO, said, “Despite this Christmas being a difficult time for many across the country, we are pleased to have been able to help our customers enjoy themselves by offering high quality food at the lowest prices on the market. Our record sales and significant basket size growth just demonstrates the strength of the Lidl appeal.”
For Lidl shoppers, Christmas came early this year with the discounter becoming the first UK retailer to stock Pink Prosecco. It certainly was the customers’ drink of choice, with one million bottles being sold in total in the four trading weeks ending 27th December[7].
The retailer also launched its first ever branded Christmas Jumper with its traditional festive design and Lidl colours of blue, yellow and red. And with one being sold every minute, it was definitely the must have of the season[8].
For the third year in a row, the discounter ran its Christmas Eve donation scheme which saw over 180,000 products, the equivalent of £150,000 worth of food, given to charities and those most in need. The products were donated via Lidl’s Feed it Back initiative in partnership with Neighbourly. In total, the initiative has led to more than 350,000 meals being donated to charities and good causes during the Christmas period.
Christian Härtnagel, Lidl GB CEO, said, “I’m really proud of how our teams have worked together during this festive period. I want to extend my thanks in particular to our colleagues. They are the absolute backbone of our business and have remained dedicated to ensuring customers could get the products they love, in a safe shopping environment. As we look ahead to this year, we remain committed to our expansion and investment plans, offering more customers up and down the country our great quality, unbeatable value offer.”
Lidl continued to press ahead with its store expansion programme, opening 4 new stores in December including in Southampton and Nottingham, creating 120 jobs for communities up and down the country. This forms part of the supermarket’s £1.3bn investment for the next two years and moves it closer to the target of 1,000 stores by 2023, which it remains on track to achieve.
