To understand what Kiwi shoppers want from Christmas this year, Foodstuffs surveyed their customers and compared it to their 2021 insights. This year 47 percent of respondents said they would be sitting down for a big meal at lunchtime instead of dinner time, and two out of three customers plan on having ham as the main protein, with chicken, lamb and fish trailing behind.
In 2021, 75 percent of customers said they would be having their main meal between 12pm and 2pm, 63 percent planned on having ham, and the 8th of December was when most Christmas Day planning took place.
“We regularly survey our customers across PAK’nSAVE, New World and Four Square – and the desire for a simple, fuss-free Christmas is the main message we’re hearing, and our teams have been working hard to deliver this,” said Chris Day, FOodstuffs Head of Customer Insights and Intelligence.
Salad bags were the most popular produce item in the North Island last Christmas, with over 2.3 million units sold in the six week run up to the holiday.
Only 37,500 turkeys were sold across both islands last year, compared to the half a million classic legs of lamb.
Over 15,000 ready-made pavlovas were purchased last season, and fresh cream sales spiked with a 700 percent increase one week before Christmas day.
Foodstuffs is expecting a rush of shoppers on the Friday and Saturday before Christmas, which falls on a Sunday. The cooperative recommends doing a big shop early to get in before the mad rush.
