There was a lot of panic buying by shoppers earlier in 2020
(Picture: REUTERS)New lockdown restrictions failed to trigger a wave of panic buying by shoppers, the latest research on supermarket spending revealed on Tuesday.
Market researcher Kantar said early evidence suggested that consumers in England are more confident about getting essentials during the new lockdown.
There was also no spike in demand when various tiered restrictions came into force across the country, with take-home sales for the four weeks to November 1 broadly in line with recent trends after rising 9.4%.
In the first lockdown, March was the busiest month on record for supermarkets as sales rose by 20.6% across the month.
Rather than stockpiling this time, shoppers were more concerned about getting Christmas gifts before stores closed on November 5. Kantar reported that in the three days before the lockdown, toy and entertainment stores saw more than double their usual share of footfall.
Ocado was again the fastest growing retailer in the 12 weeks to November 1, with sales up by 36.1% to increase the online grocer's market share to 1.7%.
Waitrose grew ahead of the market, by 10.6%, and its share rose for the first time since 2017 to 5.1%, after its online sales lifted faster than any other grocer in the period.
Morrisons led the big four supermarkets, growing sales by 11.4%, and expanding its share for the fifth month in a row. It now accounts for 10.2% of sales, while the market share of Sainsbury's sits at 15.3% after sales rose by 7.6%. Market leader Tesco grew sales by 9.1% to maintain its share at 27%.
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