Heart of England Co-op has a reported a 6.5% increase in Christmas sales, over the four weeks to 8 January.
The society put its strong performance down to people returning to the office, with those who continued to work from home shopping locally during the day. This helped boost food-to-go sales by 21%.
Impulse chocolate sales rose by 11.5%. The society said more shoppers were looking for Christmas stocking fillers such as the Malteser reindeer.
Beers and spirits also enjoyed an 8% increase during the same period, while the protein category, including turkeys, beef joints and legs of lamb, saw sales increase by 3%.
The society, which operates 33 stores, said its best-performing stores were Wellesbourne near Warwick, Attleborough in Nuneaton, Rotherham Road in Coventry and New Bilton in Rugby.
“This Christmas saw another strong festive performance by the society, despite the fact we are still in the midst of challenging times,” said Heart of England Co-op food general manager Steve Browne.
“Covid continues to create a difficult market with an adverse effect on the supply chain and customer shopping habits which have become more unpredictable in line with the changing restrictions.
“But we are delighted with our overall performance which once again is another record-breaker for us.
“This again is down to our colleagues who continue to pull out the stops throughout Covid and all the associated challenges that come with it, as well as the loyalty of our members and customers who continue to support their local Co-ops.”
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