This year, customers increasingly chose to back British over the festive period as the discounter celebrated its most successful Christmas yet. Sales increased by almost 7% year-on-year as Lidl stores welcomed more than 2million more customers through its doors, with Monday 23rd December marking its busiest day. The discounter also exceeded £1billion in turnover for the first time in the four weeks leading up to Christmas Eve.
Lidl increased its British supply base by 20% this holiday season, stocking its shelves with high-quality, locally sourced festive favourites at the lowest prices. Over 16 million British pigs in blankets were sold, including new Deluxe flavours such as maple, cheese, and cranberry. British turkeys proved again to be the festive staple, with one sold every second[1], while ¾ million roasting joints were enjoyed across the country.
Shoppers consumed almost 8million Lidl stuffing balls and 2million litres of gravy, with households enjoying a full Christmas dinner with all the trimmings for just £1.78 per head. Benefitting from the best value with no compromise on quality, shoppers purchased 6,500 tonnes of Lidl’s Pick of the Week festive British vegetables, including carrots, potatoes, parsnips, Brussels sprouts, and swede, during Christmas[2] week.
The discounter’s dedication to investing in price meant that customers could take home their vegetables for just 8p each, reinforcing Lidl’s position as the go-to supermarket for value at Christmas. This was an investment directly from the discounter, which has a long-standing commitment to supporting British agriculture and had no impact on the payment to British farmers.
Lidl Plus grew its user base by over a quarter year-on-year, with 75% more customers taking advantage of its weekly discounts. In December, Lidl also brought festive cheer with its Advent Calendar campaign, which saw more than 1million customers engage daily for surprises and promotions, driving loyalty and excitement throughout the season.
Festive innovation driving success
Lidl’s Christmas range was its most varied and innovative yet. Its expanded Deluxe range featured indulgent additions sourced from British suppliers, such as Lidl Christmas Jumper Desserts, Sticky Toffee Crowns, and its Christmas Express, a Belgian chocolate train filled with chocolate mousse and salted caramel with a brownie base and marshmallow steam.
Its affordable Partytime range also grew, with new lines including Partytime Mini Duck Bao Buns and Partytime Arancini Bites, resulting in sales jumping by 32%. Panettone and Pandoro sales increased by a quarter, with its Mini Pandoro up by 135% year on year. Lidl’s cream liqueur range, featuring new flavours such as Caramel Biscuit, White Chocolate, and Tiramisu, delivered a 60% sales uplift across the range. Marking the spirit of the season, over 11million glasses of fizz were raised in celebration, while the discounter saw a 25% spike in sales of Champagne alone.
Supporting families and xommunities
Lidl’s partnership with Neighbourly saw around 1.25million meals being donated in December, while Lidl provided £125,000 in festive grants to local charities, helping bring Christmas magic to those who needed it most. Additionally, Lidl’s nationwide Toy Bank scheme invited customers to donate toys to children who might otherwise go without, resulting in almost 100,000 toys being distributed as Christmas presents.
Commenting on the success, Ryan McDonnell, CEO at Lidl GB, said: “For three decades, Lidl has been providing households with access to unbeatable quality and value at Christmas. This year, we were thrilled to welcome more customers than ever before. That’s a strong reflection of the trust our customers place in us and the dedication of our colleagues and suppliers, who work so hard to deliver an outstanding Christmas for the communities we serve.
“In 2024, we continued to raise the bar with product innovation, especially within our Deluxe range, as well as supporting all the community initiatives that are deeply important to us. It’s all been about bringing people together and sharing the joy of Christmas.
“Looking ahead, we’re excited to build on our momentum, growing our presence across the country and continuing to deliver the highest quality at the best prices on the market.”
This update comes after Lidl revealed it experienced the highest growth in customer visits of any supermarket last year, as part of its FY23 results. As the fastest-growing bricks-and-mortar supermarket for over a year, shoppers switched half a billion pounds of spending to the discounter from other grocers, cementing its position as a leader in value and quality.
