Shoppers make fewer supermarket visits as fuel shortages persist

Shoppers made fewer supermarket trips in the past month due to UK fuel shortages, with many staying off the roads and buying online instead, new data shows.

Scores of people have been seen queuing outside petrol stations recently, with visits to forecourts up 66% in the South of England on Friday 24 September, compared to the same date in 2020.

The reduced availability contributed to a drop in store visits, with the average household making 15.5 trips to them in the four weeks to October 3. That was the lowest monthly figure since February.

Research firm Kantar, which compiled the data, said the proportion of groceries purchased online, which had been decreasing over the past seven months, increased to 12.4% in the month from 12.2% recorded in the four weeks to early September.

In total take-home grocery sales fell by 1.2% over the 12 weeks to October 3. But they still remain 8.1% higher than they were before the pandemic, and every grocer that Kantar tracks boosted its sales compared with the same period in 2019.

Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar, said a “minority of very prepared shoppers took the chance to get ahead on their festive spending as 449,000 eager consumers bought their Christmas pudding in September, with sales 76% higher than in the same month last year”.

Like-for-like grocery prices rose by 1.7% in the past four weeks compared with last year.

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