LONDON (Reuters) - Britons will spend 20.3 billion pounds on groceries over the festive period, a 1.4 percent increase on last year, industry research group IGD forecast on Wednesday.
The group said its research found 19 percent of shoppers plan to spend more on food and drink over the Christmas period, defined as Nov. 20 to Dec. 26, than the previous Christmas, a trend which could be positive for the likes of market leaders Tesco (L:TSCO) and Sainsbury (L:SBRY).
It said 18 percent plan to spend more on their Christmas meal and a quarter will spend more on Christmas presents compared with 2014. "British shoppers are feeling more upbeat about Christmas spending this year," said Joanne Denney-Finch, IGD chief executive.
British consumers have seen a pick-up in wages, falling prices for goods and record-low interest rates. Yet they have so far proved reluctant to spend much more on groceries, with sales up just 0.5 percent in the 12 weeks to Nov. 8, according to Kantar Worldpanel data, partly due to falling prices.
"A growing number of shoppers are prepared to loosen their purse strings, and yet this is counterbalanced by the widespread awareness of how to spend less, for instance by researching online and shopping around," said Denney-Finch.
IGD's forecast was based on ShopperVista survey data of 1,055 shoppers. Polling was conducted between Nov. 13 and 15.
