A fifth of UK households will buy more groceries due to the coronation of King Charles on 6 May.

According to a survey by NIQ, the extra bank holiday in Britain will see an increase in sales of beer, wine, and spirits along with ‘special’ groceries as people gather to celebrate the event.

Around 15 per cent of households will buy memorabilia to celebrate the coronation, which will take place in Westminster Abbey.

“As we saw over the Jubilee weekend (in June 2022) shoppers celebrated with fizz and teatime treats, so there could be a demand for similar products this year despite shoppers wanting to make savings," said Mike Watkins, UK head of retailer and business insight at NIQ.

Sales at UK supermarkets during the late Queen Elizabeth’s Jubilee in June 2022 reached £2.7 billion pounds. Retailers predicted a rise in sales of around 10 per cent with the leisure industry seeing an increase in sales of almost 35 per cent.

NIQ said sales of items on promotion at UK supermarkets rose to 23 per cent in the last four weeks ending 22nd April 2023. This is the highest level since December 2020, and was helped by the increased level of supermarket loyalty scheme discounts.

Watkins added: “Inflation will continue to lift value growth but the ongoing trend for shoppers to buy fewer items each trip is putting pressure on retailers to attract new shoppers and get more visits to drive overall sales. However, with summer fast approaching and the Coronation this weekend, this could kick start some incremental spend.”

This follows the news that prices of some staple foods, including cheddar cheese, have gone up by as much as 80 per cent over the past year, according to research from Which?.

Tesco recently announced that while sales had increased by over five per cent over the last financial year, customers were buying fewer items with higher price tags.

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