Monitoring retail purchase and price promotions in Scotland 2019-2022

Summary

This report provides information on retail purchasing patterns of food and drink in Scotland, comparing trends throughout 2019 - 2022, using data from Kantar Worldpanel. It follows on from data last published by Food Standards Scotland (FSS) in 2022, which presented trends in purchasing patterns in Scotland, between 2019 and 2021. The data presented relates to retail purchasing in Scotland, and refers to take home purchases. It does not include food and drink purchased for consumption outside of the home (OOH).

Key findings include:

• Following the rise in volume of total food and drink purchased in 2020 and 2021, there was a decrease in 2022, returning to similar levels as those observed in 2019 prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. 
• The total annual spend on retail food and drink in 2022 was £10.5 billion compared to £9.3 billion in 2019, representing an increase of 13.4%.
• In 2022, 8% of the total volume of food and drink was purchased online. This represents a 66.4% increase in online purchasing between 2019 and 2022.
• In 2022, the average annual purchase of energy per person, per day was 2,232kcal.
• The average annual purchase of calories, total fat and saturated fat per person, per day all increased between the years 2019 and 2022, whilst total sugars and salt decreased.
• 20.0% of total food and drink purchased was on a price promotion in 2022. Since 2019, there has been a gradual decrease in the volume of food and drink purchased on price promotion.
• Temporary price reductions remained the price promotion type on which the highest volume of food and drink were purchased. Average spend on price promotion was greater (£2.19 per kilogram) than average spend off promotion (£1.67 per kg).
• Many discretionary food and drink categories continue to be purchased on price promotion at higher levels than healthier categories. In 2022, 28.3% of discretionary food and drink categories were purchased on price promotion.

This report complements and adds to existing FSS data on monitoring trends in retail food and drink purchasing. This data forms part of the FSS dietary monitoring programme and will be used to support and policy development, and public health communications and consumer advice.

Erratum: The report was updated on 8 May 2024. The figure for food and drink purchased online on price promotion type TPR in 2022 has been corrected to 18.3%. This is due to a typographic error. Download the full report (including this correction) below.