Take-home grocery sales for the 12 weeks to January 24 grew 12.2% to £32.8bn, while the ongoing effects of hospitality closures due to the coronavirus saw customers spend £10.2bn in January – an extra £1bn compared with the same period the previous year. 

Another notable consumer behaviour came in bricks-and-mortar versus online sales. The data showed that customers who were 28 years old and under increased spending in larger physical stores by 12%, while the over-45s cut spending in supermarkets by 1%.

While the over-45s shopped less physically during the period, this age group spent more online, which Kantar says played a big part in helping digital food sales hit a record 14% share this month.