Waitrose reports‘strong’ Royal Wedding sales | TalkingRetail.com

Waitrose has reported an‘outstanding’ week of sales, following a flurry of festivities across the country before the royal wedding.

With the vast majority of shops closed for trade on Easter Sunday, the most accurate comparison is the week following Easter last year, compared to which the total branch sales for the supermarket were up by 23.1%, and 34.5% on the equivalent week two years ago.

Waitrose also saw the busiest Thursday ever (28 April), outside the Christmas and New Year period.

The strong performance finished off a healthy first quarter for Waitrose. Total provisional Waitrose sales for the three months ending 30 April 2011“significantly outperformed” the market, at 8.7% higher than last year.

On a like-for-like basis our total branch sales (excluding petrol) were up by 4.7%. Compared to two years ago, total provisional Waitrose sales for the quarter were 22.3% higher.

Last week’s sales patterns were reflective of the celebratory and patriotic mood across much of the country. The Heston From Waitrose Royal Trifle, created especially for the big day, was in demand and prompted many others to create their own version, with trifle sponges 370% up on last year.

Other traditional British foods that saw strong sales included strawberry sales (51% up on last year), clotted cream sales (70% higher), and cheesecake sales (62% higher).

Source: Waitrose

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