Discount supermarket Lidl has hailed a “record” Christmas as it revealed that sales surged during the key December trading period.
The retailer said total sales jumped 17.9% in the four weeks to December 27, compared with the same period last year.
Lidl said the increase in sales was partly driven by customers buying more items during their shopping trips, with the average basket size increasing by 24.8% during the period.
Sales of Lidl’s premium Deluxe range also increased, rising by 22% as customers wanted to celebrate the festive season with treats despite the pandemic, it said.
Lidl said it sold one million bottles of pink prosecco, while it also posted higher sales of other Christmas favourites including panettone and mince pies.
It is the latest supermarket chain to reveal its trading performance, after Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and Aldi all revealed higher Christmas sales in updates last week.
Rival discounter Aldi posted a 10.6% sales increase for the four weeks up to December 24.
Christian Hartnagel, chief executive of Lidl GB, 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.
“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.”
The chain continued to press ahead with its store expansion programme in December, opening four new stores, including sites in Southampton and Nottingham.
It said it is “on track” to reach its target of 1,000 UK stores by 2023, with £1.3 billion in investment planned for the next two years.
