Aldi has recorded its “best ever” Christmas, with total sales up 3.4% year on year in the four weeks to 24 December to top £1.6bn.
Sales of seasonal Christmas products were up 10%, while shoppers trading up boosted sales of its premium Specially Selected range by 12%, according to a trading update from the discounter.
Monday 23 December was Aldi’s busiest-ever trading day as it served nearly three million customers.
It capped another “astonishing” year, in which Aldi overtook Asda to become the country’s second-largest supermarket by shopper numbers, the discounter said.
Aldi has also reported strong sales of British products, with a record 350,000 fresh British turkeys sold, along with more than 400 tonnes of British beef and almost three million British brussels sprouts.
Shoppers started festivities earlier than ever, according to the supermarket, with some spreading the cost by buying traditional favourites like Christmas cakes and puddings as early as September.
The extended trend for treating saw shoppers buy around 50 million mince pies and around 25 million British pigs in blankets.
Aldi UK CEO Giles Hurley used the trading update to renew the discounter’s promise to maintain a price gap compared with other supermarkets.
“We dropped hundreds of prices last year as part of our ongoing mission to make outstanding-quality, affordable food accessible to everyone,” he said.
“Our offering of outstanding-quality British products at unbeatable prices was a winning combination yet again this Christmas as customers wanted to celebrate in style after an uncertain year, but with more challenges ahead, they wanted to do it without breaking the bank.”
He added: “We couldn’t have done any of this without the unwavering dedication of all our amazing colleagues and I want to thank each and every member of Team Aldi for serving our customers so well this Christmas.
“As we look ahead to the new year, which for many will mean the prospect of living costs rising again, many families will be nervous about what 2025 holds.
“Against this background, our mission remains clear: we will not only remain the UK’s lowest-priced supermarket, but we will ensure the price gap between ourselves and the traditional full-price supermarkets is as big as ever.
“Because with so much uncertainty, what our customers want to know is that whatever they need, they will make significant savings, week in, week out, by shopping at Aldi.”
It comes after rival discounter Lidl last week reported sales grew 7% year on year in the four weeks to 24 December to top £1bn for the first time.
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