---
title: When will supermarket shoppers buy groceries leading up to Christmas?
description: Leading shopper marketing agency CheckoutSmart report on Christmas shopping times for the supermarket shopper. Plus see when grocery shoppers shop by day and time all year round.
image: https://www.checkoutsmart.global/hubfs/Christmas%20Shopping%20Marketing%20Insight_Thumbnail.jpg
---

Written by Paul 

 December 4, 2018

# When will supermarket shoppers buy groceries leading up to Christmas?

Share

After analysing the shopping basket data from than 500,000 grocery receipts uploaded by our members in the Decembers of 2013 - 2017, we can see that on average there is a steady rise in sales in the four days leading up to 23rd December.

The team at **leading Shopper Marketing Agency CheckoutSmart **have produced their Christmas sales forecast for 2018. With Christmas Day falling on a Tuesday in 2018, it is predicted that **many shoppers will leave their Christmas grocery shop until the weekend before, with an expected surge on Saturday 22nd and Sunday 23rd December**. This will allow shoppers to take advantage of final Christmas promotional activity and stock up on perishables and fresh produce before the big day. **Christmas Eve, will then see a dramatic fall-off** in predicted sales at just 5.6% of the week, as everyone settles down at home or heads to friends and family for the festive period. 

While in-store activity programmes have been locked down for months, as we are independent of retailers, **CheckoutSmart’s mobile-led approach means that programmes can still be activated ****immediately**, creating an opportunity for suppliers to maximise sales during the busiest time of the year.

**Activity run via CheckoutSmart such as trial gaining or category share driving** circumvents retailer restrictions by placing product offers directly into the hands of its over 1.5 million members via its app and web site. Shoppers simply need to purchase the product and upload the receipt to the app to receive their cashback. This is **fully measurable activity with an immediate turnaround time**. To capitalise on prime shopping times, CheckoutSmart Geo-targeted push notifications allow brands to inform shoppers about current offers and specials, create brand awareness and encourage immediate action.

 

![Screen Shot 2018-11-29 at 10.17.39](https://www.checkoutsmart.global/hs-fs/hubfs/Screen%20Shot%202018-11-29%20at%2010.17.39.png?width=600&name=Screen%20Shot%202018-11-29%20at%2010.17.39.png)

The data is based on all receipts uploaded to CheckoutSmart in December 2013-December 2017

 

![Screen Shot 2018-11-29 at 10.18.19](https://www.checkoutsmart.global/hs-fs/hubfs/Screen%20Shot%202018-11-29%20at%2010.18.19.png?width=600&name=Screen%20Shot%202018-11-29%20at%2010.18.19.png)

**Sunday 23rd December 2018 will be the most important shopping day** leading up to Christmas with 19.6% of the weeks sales.

Digital shopper marketing is what we do. To learn more about the whole topic of Shopper Marketing, why not read our introduction [here](https://www.checkoutsmart.global/shopper-marketing).

**To find out more about which day and what time UK grocery shoppers are most active, [download the When Do Grocery Shoppers Shop Insight Report direct to your inbox](https://www.checkoutsmart.global/when-do-grocery-shoppers-shop).**

 

#### Related Articles

[![](https://4550447.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/4550447/CheckoutSmart%20AI%20Laundry%20and%20Sunscreen%20background.jpg)

](https://www.checkoutsmart.global/resources/what-shoppers-really-see-how-ai-is-shaping-us-sunscreen-and-laundry-choices)

[ecommerce](https://www.checkoutsmart.global/resources/tag/ecommerce)  Jul 6, 2026 11:27:20 AM

[ How AI Search Is Directing US Sunscreen and Laundry shoppers ](https://www.checkoutsmart.global/resources/what-shoppers-really-see-how-ai-is-shaping-us-sunscreen-and-laundry-choices)

 Every few weeks, CheckoutSmart uses its AI Consumer Panel to explore a new shopper topic and understand what consumers ...

[Read more keyboard_arrow_right ](https://www.checkoutsmart.global/resources/what-shoppers-really-see-how-ai-is-shaping-us-sunscreen-and-laundry-choices)

[![](https://4550447.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/4550447/CheckoutSmart%20Did%20you%20medal%20May%202026.jpg)

](https://www.checkoutsmart.global/resources/top-150-fmcg-uk-manufacturers-ranked-by-review-impact-april-2026)

[Supermarket](https://www.checkoutsmart.global/resources/tag/supermarket)  Jun 29, 2026 8:32:49 AM

[ Top 150 FMCG UK Manufacturers Ranked by Review Impact - April 2026 ](https://www.checkoutsmart.global/resources/top-150-fmcg-uk-manufacturers-ranked-by-review-impact-april-2026)

 Every quarter, CheckoutSmart analyses how the UK's largest FMCG manufacturers are performing when it comes to online ...

[Read more keyboard_arrow_right ](https://www.checkoutsmart.global/resources/top-150-fmcg-uk-manufacturers-ranked-by-review-impact-april-2026)

```json
{
  "@context" : "https://schema.org",
  "@type" : "BlogPosting",
  "author" : {
    "@type" : "Person",
    "name" : "Paul",
    "url" : "https://www.checkoutsmart.global/resources/author/paul"
  },
  "dateModified" : "2025-10-28T14:46:46.282Z",
  "datePublished" : "2018-12-04T08:09:19.000Z",
  "headline" : "When will supermarket shoppers buy groceries leading up to Christmas?",
  "image" : [ "https://www.checkoutsmart.global/hubfs/Christmas%20Shopping%20Marketing%20Insight_Thumbnail.jpg" ],
  "mainEntityOfPage" : {
    "@id" : "https://www.checkoutsmart.global/resources/christmas-shopping-marketing",
    "@type" : "WebPage"
  },
  "publisher" : {
    "@type" : "Organization",
    "logo" : {
      "@type" : "ImageObject",
      "url" : "https://www.checkoutsmart.global/hubfs/CheckoutSmart%202020/About%20Page/footer-logo.png"
    },
    "name" : "CheckoutSmart"
  }
}
```