Why will the price of a Christmas dinner increase this year?

Britons will have to pay more for their Christmas dinner this year, figures show.

The average Christmas dinner for four people costs £32.57 – an increase of 6.5 per cent on last year – according to analysis by research group Kantar.

The increase is caused by a sharp increase in the price of potatoes: £1.65 for four portions, which is a staggering increase of 16.2 percent compared to a year earlier.

Peeps are part of a general trend that has seen vegetable prices skyrocket this year, with parsnips 12.7 percent more expensive (71 cents) and carrots 11.4 percent more expensive (49 cents). Frozen turkey has also risen in price by 8.5 per cent to £14.09.

The only thing on our plates that hasn’t surpassed food inflation (1.9 percent) is Brussels sprouts, which are only 1.1 percent more expensive than last year, Kantar said.

But it was good news for lovers of sparkling wine, the only product that did not increase in price.

The increase in the entire shopping basket is significantly higher than the total supermarket inflation of 2.6 percent, which according to Kantar is higher than the 2.3 percent in November.

Despite rising prices, supermarket sales are expected to exceed £13 billion for the first time in the four weeks of December.

Sales of a range of sweet biscuits and cheese biscuits doubled in November compared to the previous month, while 8 per cent of shoppers bought a Christmas pudding.

The share of spending on premium own-brand products stood at 5 percent over the past four weeks and is expected to rise to almost 7 percent in December, Kantar said.

Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar, said: ‘Monday 23 December is likely to be the busiest day for supermarkets this year, although there are clear signs that consumers are already stocking their cupboards.

‘Many of us take the opportunity to treat ourselves at this time of year and retailers are introducing seasonal product lines to help us celebrate in style.’

Meanwhile, promotional sales reached 30% in November, the highest since Christmas last year and driven by deals accessed via supermarket loyalty cards, as shoppers traded in for festive treats such as champagne, wine and spirits.

Britain’s largest supermarket chain, Tesco, achieved its highest market share since December 2017, reaching 28.1 percent, up from 27.4 percent in 2023, as sales grew 5.2 percent in the 12 weeks to December.

Sainsbury’s share rose by 0.3 percentage points to 15.9 percent, and cash register spending was 4.7 percent higher than last year.

Mr McKevitt added: ‘The number of different retailers we visit in the run up to Christmas is higher than at other times of the year, including wider high street brands such as M&S.

Despite rising prices, supermarket sales are expected to exceed £13 billion for the first time ever in the four weeks of December

‘Just under one in three households, namely 32 percent, bought food, drinks and other groceries from M&S for home use in the twelve weeks to December 1. Looking at grocery sales alone, spending at M&S ​​increased by 10.4 percent.”

Lidl was the fastest growing brick-and-mortar grocer, with sales up 6.6 percent, while spend at Morrisons rose 2 percent to 8.6 percent of the market.

Waitrose grew slightly faster than the market, with spend rising 2.6 per cent to maintain a 4.4 per cent market share, and spend at Aldi growing 2.1 per cent, giving the discounter 10.3 per cent of got the market.

Co-op claimed 5.5 percent of the market and Asda has a 12.3 percent share.