Food & Drink sector performance – October 2021
10 November 2021IGD’s CEO, Susan Barratt, contributes to the BRC’s Retail Sales Monitor, providing insight on UK food and drink sales.
IGD’s CEO, Susan Barratt, contributes to the BRC’s Retail Sales Monitor, providing insight on UK food and drink sales.
The food and drink sector saw another muted performance in October, with sales down versus 2020, when shoppers increasingly stocked up ahead of the second lockdown in November. Preparations for Halloween 2021 offered a slight boost to performance, though the actual day fell out of the reporting period.
IGD’s Shopper Confidence Index reached one of its lowest levels (-11) in October. Our ShopperVista research reveals 28% of shoppers now expect food to get much more expensive in the year ahead, the highest level recorded, with increasing numbers signalling that rising food, energy and petrol prices are having an impact. However, with preparations for COP26 gathering pace in October, shoppers are torn in different directions. Some 40% stated that environmental impact was important when food shopping, up from 36% in September ’21. Helping shoppers navigate through rising prices while also addressing environmental concerns will be a key challenge for the food industry.
Click here for the latest Retail Sales Monitor from BRC.
More economic news and analysis
Sign up to our bulletin
Our round-up of the latest economic and political news, focused on FMCGs