71% of consumers in Spain bring their food purchases forward by at least a week for Christmas celebrations. They do so, above all, to make sure they can find the desired products, organize the menus more calmly, and take advantage of tighter prices, according to the eighth edition of Aldi’s report on purchasing habits at Christmas.
The study details that among the main reasons for this early shopping are the possibility of finding the products they are looking for (51%), planning purchases and meals better (50%), and accessing more economical prices (48%).
Preparation also extends into the kitchen: 82% of consumers leave their Christmas menus defined with a week or more of lead time.
From Aldi, they point out that the reference supermarket remains the “preferred channel” for 51% of families when it comes to shopping for Christmas. Shoppers choose their usual establishment driven, above all, by the value for money relationship (56%), convenience during the shopping experience (43%), and the range of products available (40%).
At the same time, the supermarket’s own brand “takes on decisive prominence in the celebrations” and is present at the tables of eight out of every ten households (81%). For 60% of customers, these items already account for half or more of their Christmas basket.
Control of spending and active search for savings
The company’s data suggests that budget control and the search for savings clearly condition the purchasing decisions of Spanish households at this time of year. Food and drink make up the largest spending item for 41% of families, while 61% admit that price will influence their Christmas purchases more than it did last year.
In this scenario, 90% of households apply some strategy to reduce outlay, mainly taking advantage of offers (62%) and advance planning of the menus (47%), especially for products such as seafood and meat.
With the intention of “offering high-quality menus without compromising the household economy,” Aldi has again launched its ‘gourmet Special’ range, a catalog with more than 150 private-label references designed to make preparing the dishes easier and to offer premium-quality options at affordable prices in all the supermarkets in the chain.
In the current edition, the selection adds more than 60 new additions and new flavors. Thus, Aldi states that it strengthens "a range characterized by cost containment", in which 70% of the 'Special' range is located below 5 euros and 40% is priced below 3 euros.