Most retailers felt their business performed better than last year this festive season, a survey by Drinks Retailing found.  When asked about the 2025 festive trading period compared with the previous year, 56% of retailers said they had done better, while 37% reported about the same performance, and only 6% said they had done worse.  Notably, retailers said that Champagne sales were down,…

While the majority of alcohol categories saw a slight decline this Christmas period compared to last, there were a few notable exceptions, found Worldpanel.  In data provided to Drinks Retailing, Worldpanel explained that in the four weeks to 28 December, the RTD sector grew to £1.7m, up 4.5% from the same period last year.  At the same time, shoppers spent nearly £5m more this…

In reports published this week, discount supermarkets Lidl and Aldi both announced growth in their premium-own-brand ranges over the Christmas period.  Lidl said that it saw a 260% increase in the sales of its Comté de Senneval Champagne during the busiest week of the festive season.  This momentum continued across its wider own-brand ranges, where Deluxe party food delivered triple-digit growth. …

As the year draws to a close and we prepare to take the leap into the second half of another decade, all of us at Drinks Retailing would like to extend a heartfelt thanks to our readers for their continued support. It’s been another testing, but inspiring, year for the drinks trade: 2025 was shaped by shifting consumer habits, rising costs and plenty…

As consumers try to balance luxury with tightening budgets and a desire for sustainable purchasing, Christmas is getting complicated. Lizzy O’Riordan considers the biggest priorities for this year’s festive season Experiences Experience-based gifts continue to thrive. Often environmentally friendly, personalised and ideal for the new generation of knowledge-craving consumers, retailers should tap into the experience trend. For some retailers, such as…

As the trade starts to gear up for Christmas, Lizzy O’Riordan catches up with retailers around the country to see how they are preparing and their trend predictions for the season Returning to classics – Phil Innes, founder/director, Loki Wines We genuinely start planning in January because we have our Christmas wine fairs, which showcase more than 300 products and 35 suppliers,…

Majestic has announced Christmas 2024 was its most successful yet.  The retailer said that the festive season was its “best-ever” as it saw a sales rise of 1.9% in the six weeks to December 30, during which time it served 70,000 new customers.   The retailer suggested this was thanks to the opening of seven new stores during 2024 and the growth of…