British consumers purchased less food and drink over the recent festive period, with retail analysts pointing to the growing use of weight loss injections as a key factor. While total spending rose, the actual volume of goods sold declined, signalling a shift in consumption habits.
The Festive Sales Figures: Value Up, Volume Down
According to data from market researcher NielsenIQ, grocery sales reached £19.6 billion in the four weeks leading to 27 December. This figure represents a 2.5% increase compared to the same period the previous year. However, in a telling contrast, sales measured by volume actually fell by 0.2%.
This divergence indicates that while shoppers spent more money, they took home fewer items, a trend experts are increasingly linking to pharmaceutical interventions for weight management.
The 'Ozempic Effect' on Christmas Consumption
Retail analysts believe the decline in volume is connected to the rapid rise in people using GLP-1 agonist injections, such as Mounjaro and Wegovy. These drugs mimic a key gut hormone, making users feel full sooner and reducing appetite.
An estimated 1.6 million UK adults have used these injections in the past year, according to research from University College London. The NHS prescribes some for weight loss, while others, like Ozempic, are approved for diabetes treatment.
Jonathan De Mello, a retail analyst at JDM Retail, stated: “The Ozempic effect is now a very real trend in grocery, with GLP-1 usage rising rapidly, and concurrent year-on-year grocery volume decline among users as a result. High-calorie categories like snacks and alcohol have been particularly impacted.”
Echoing this, consumer analyst Clive Black from Shore Capital suggested the Christmas volume dip was "perhaps the clearest indication of the impact of glucagon-peptide (GLP) drugs upon the nation's eating habits."
How Retailers Are Adapting to New Appetites
In response to this shifting consumer behaviour, major supermarkets are already launching new product ranges designed for smaller appetites and different nutritional demands.
The Co-op has introduced four new 'mini meals', while Marks & Spencer has brought out a 'nutrient dense' range. Iceland has significantly expanded its frozen ready meal selection with 38 new lines.
The trend is also affecting food-to-go chains. Roisin Currie, chief executive of Greggs, confirmed the impact, noting that while total sales grew by 7.4%, like-for-like growth was 2.4%. She observed: “What we’ve been seeing is people are looking for smaller portions, people are looking for information on areas such as protein and fibre.”
Supermarket leaders are watching closely. Tesco's Ken Murphy said the retailer was monitoring trends "very closely", and Sainsbury's CEO Simon Roberts confirmed the grocer is "observing closely" changes in shopper habits driven by weight loss medication.
As De Mello concludes, this ‘less but better’ consumption shift is gaining momentum, forcing a fundamental rethink of product lines across the grocery sector.
