LONDON (Reuters) - Sales of general merchandise at UK supermarkets fell 7% on the year in the four weeks to Dec. 2 as shoppers looked to save money, delaying spending to take advantage of seasonal grocery promotions before Christmas, researcher NIQ said on Tuesday.
It said total sales growth at UK supermarkets slowed to 6.8% over the same period from 8.7% in last month's report.
Sales on a volume basis, or the number of items sold, were also weaker, down 0.9%.
The NIQ data going into December provides the most up-to-date snapshot of UK consumer behaviour.
In value terms it said meat and poultry and confectionery were the fastest growing categories with sales up 10.1% and 10.2% respectively.
Echoing data from rival market researcher Kantar last week, NIQ said sales made on promotion rose to 25%, the highest level since February 2020.
Discounters Lidl and Aldi were again the strongest performers over the 12 weeks to Dec. 2, with sales up 17.3% and 14.3% respectively.
Marks & Spencer was next with sales growth of 12.8%, followed by Ocado (LON:OCDO) on 11.7%, Sainsbury's on 9.5% and market leader Tesco (LON:TSCO) on 7.8%.
NIQ said Britons were likely to spend up to 5 billion pounds ($6.3 billion) over the seven days to Dec. 24, which, reflecting inflation, would be the biggest ever week for food sales.
Food price inflation was running at 7.8% in November, down from 8.8% in October, according to the researcher.
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