Aldi Has Record Christmas Sales as UK Shoppers Seek Discounts

German discount supermarket chain Aldi recorded its best Christmas shopping season yet in the UK as the squeeze on living conditions led British consumers to save money on groceries.

(Bloomberg) — German discount supermarket chain Aldi recorded its best Christmas shopping season yet in the UK as the squeeze on living conditions led British consumers to save money on groceries.

The retailer’s sales topped £1.4 billion ($1.67 billion) in December, 26% higher than the year before, also helped by purchases during the football World Cup.

With food price inflation at the highest in more than four decades, shoppers are switching to discounters Aldi and Lidl and they’re also buying own-brand goods to save money. Competition was particularly fierce among British supermarkets in December as they tried to keep prices down to attract shoppers.

Read more: Panettone From Lidl Is the Taste of Christmas in Broke Britain

Aldi customers stocked up on holiday staples, buying more than 48 million mince pies, 38 million pigs-in-blankets and 1,700 metric tons of sprouts in the weeks approaching Christmas. Sales of poultry and pork rose 28% while the World Cup drove sales of potato chips and nuts up by over 40%.

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