Lidl GB has revealed that demand for its Deluxe range has helped to drive the discounter’s best Christmas yet, with overall sales increasing by 12% Year-on-Year.
The strong festive performance was supported by a surge in shoppers across the period, as 4.5 million more people came through its doors in December. In addition to being the busiest of the month, its busiest day on record fell on Friday 22nd December.
With customers craving a touch of luxury at low prices, sales of the discounter’s Deluxe lines increased by 11%. Now a symbol of celebration, best sellers included its Deluxe Macarons, Deluxe Christmas Pâté and Deluxe Christmas Crisps with flavours such as Lobster Cocktail and Parmesan and Truffle.
Sparkling wines were the go-to-tipple, with sales of its Montaudon Champagne Brut doubling in December after beating Moët in nationwide blind taste tests, whilst Prosecco sales were up 45% as more than 9.3 million glasses were sipped by Lidl shoppers.
Christmas classics were also in demand as Lidl saw a fresh British turkey sell every two seconds during the week before the big day, whilst it sold 2,000 tonnes of British potatoes[x] (the equivalent weight of 50 lorries) and 1,600 tonnes of British carrots (weighing in the same as 230 tractors), priced at 15p per pack, as part of its festive Pick of the Week promotion.
Bringing back Britain’s bestselling Panettones the discounter expanded both its Deluxe Panettone and Pandoro range this year and saw one of its most popular options – the Mini Panettone with Chocolate Chips – increase sales by over 20%.
Lidl’s much-loved Christmas merch continued to entice customers with jumper sales soaring by 40% whilst the Lidl Christmas socks became the best seller in the range. But wardrobes weren’t the only household item to receive a festive makeover; customers decked the halls like never before with over 1740km worth of Lidl Christmas lights (enough to get from John o’ Groats to Land’s End and back), whilst sales of British Medium Nordmann Firs increased by 37% Year on Year.
Ryan McDonnell, Lidl GB CEO, said: “I’m incredibly proud of our performance this Christmas in what was the busiest trading period in our history. As the fastest-growing supermarket in the country, we welcomed more customers through our doors than ever before and ensured that we delivered the quality and price promise they have come to expect from us. It’s testament to the incredible contribution of our colleagues and suppliers who worked so hard to provide a fantastic Christmas for the communities we serve.”
McDonnell continued: “Deluxe proved to be a standout winner this Christmas with record-breaking sales as we saw customers not only start their festive celebrations early but trade up to premium lines across all categories. As we look ahead into 2024 and even higher footfall, we remain relentlessly focused on continuing to do what we do best – which is always offering the highest quality on the market for unbeatable value.”
Following popular demand, and to help make their money go even further this year, Lidl brought back its popular Advent promotion on its rewards app Lidl Plus which resulted in a redemption uplift of more than 255% compared to last year. In the run up to the big day customers were offered a variety of additional coupons including 25% off Lidl’s Favorina Lebkuchen, Buy One Get One Free on a Gingerbread Plait from the discounters award-winning instore bakery as well as a free pack of Favorina Chocolate Lollies when spending £25.
Lidl also continued its support for local communities throughout the festive season, donating approximately 750,000 meals to local charities and food banks in December.
